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Legal & General completes a £130 million buy-in with the QinetiQ Pension Scheme
Legal & General Assurance Society Limited (“Legal & General”) today announces that it has completed a £130m buy-in transaction with the QinetiQ Pension Scheme (the “Scheme”), covering the pension benefits for over 390 new retirees since a previous pensioner buy-in in April 2019.
17 Jun 2021
This announcement marks the Scheme’s first buy-in transaction with Legal & General. As part of the agreement, an umbrella contract was established, which enables future transactions with Legal & General to be completed quickly and easily on the same pre-agreed terms when favourable pricing opportunities arise.
The Scheme completed a £690m pensioner buy-in with another insurer in April 2019 which covered all pensioners at that time.
LCP was appointed to the Trustee as a specialist de-risking adviser, acting as lead adviser for the transaction. Legal advice was provided to the Trustee by Burges Salmon and to Legal & General by Clifford Chance.
Andy Ryan, Pricing Strategy Director, Legal & General Retirement Institutional: "This transaction demonstrates how an effective umbrella contract can be agreed as part of a pension scheme’s de-risking journey to enable efficient follow-on transactions. We look forward to continuing to build on our relationship with the Scheme and work with the Trustee to provide further security to scheme members."
Lisa Mundy for BESTrustees which acts as Chair of Trustees: "This further step on the Scheme’s journey increases the security of the benefits of all our Scheme members. With the support from our advisers, the Trustee was able to reduce the risks in the Scheme whilst also expanding our framework for future de-risking."
David Stewart, Partner, LCP: "We are delighted to have advised the Trustee in their next step on their de-risking journey. In our role as specialist de-risking adviser we helped the Trustee put a second umbrella contract in place, adding Legal & General to their panel of insurers. The Scheme joins the growing list of large pension schemes, with umbrella contracts in place with multiple insurers, enabling them to move quickly when favourable conditions arise whilst maintaining competitive tension."
Further information
Margrit Williams
Director of External Engagement
Legal & General Capital
Notes to editors
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management (as at HY24) of which c40% (circa £0.5 trillion) is international.
We have a highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. We are a leading international player in Institutional Retirement, in Retail Savings and Protection, and in both public and private markets through our Asset Management division. Across the Group, we are committed to responsible investing and dedicated to serving the long-term savings and investment needs of customers and society.
As at 11 December 2024, Legal & General has a market capitalisation of 13.7 billion.
Institutional Retirement works with trustees and sponsoring companies of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes of all sizes to settle their pension obligations and secure scheme members’ benefits, through a full range of buy-ins, buyouts and other de-risking solutions. Our Client Services’ 12-month rolling Net Promoter Score (NPS) is above +70, which is widely regarded as being at a “world class” level. Legal & General is the UK’s longest-standing active bulk annuity provider.
Our UK Retirement annuity book stands at an estimated £86.1 billion at 31 December 2023. Across the group over £30 billion is invested in direct investments that deliver positive social and environmental impacts, such as clean energy and affordable housing. Legal & General provides income and pension security to more than a million retirement customers around the world.