The scheme is sponsored by Signet Jewelers – the owner of H Samuel and Ernest Jones – and includes 825 deferred and 1,084 pensioner members.
The bulk annuity deal was agreed in July after a ten-week process, and is intended to transition to a buyout contract “in due course”.
Scheme trustee chair Alan Baker – who is a director at Law Debenture – commented: “We are delighted to have worked with our sponsoring employer to secure the pension benefits for all of our members with Rothesay.”
He said that Rothesay was an “attractive partner” due to its sole purpose of insuring pension liabilities.
“This is a great outcome for our members and has resulted from a really positive and successful collaboration between all of those involved.”
Rothesay has so far confirmed £1.1bn of bulk annuity transactions this year, including a £120m deal with a pension scheme of newspaper publisher Reach.
Business development team member Tom Seecharan said: “The transition from quotation to signing in such an efficient timeframe is testament to the ambition, organisation and dynamism of the scheme trustees and their advisers.”
Lead advice on the transaction was provided by Mercer, while legal advice was given by Sackers and Gowling WLG to the scheme and Rothesay respectively.
Mercer UK head of bulk pensions insurance David Ellis said: “We worked closely with the scheme and trustee to ensure we were ready to transact when the scheme funding level and market conditions were favourable.
“In this case, support frm the sponsoring employer, combined with the co-operation between parties, ensured the process was completed efficiently, achieving long-term security for all members.”
Across the market, around £6.3bn of buy-ins and buyouts have now been confirmed for 2021, including a £3m deal with a Brent Group scheme and Just Group, announced today.
Credit: Source link
