An undisclosed pension scheme has completed a £58m buy-in with Canada Life, marking the first ever deferred member transaction Canada Life has completed.

The transaction secures the remaining benefits of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, covering retirement benefits for around 570 members, including over 300 deferred members.

Canada Life was appointed following a competitive tender process run by Hymans Robertson.

The scheme received legal advice from CMS, while Canada Life received legal advice from Eversheds Sutherland, alongside their in-house legal team.

Commenting on the news, Canada Life managing director of bulk purchase annuities, Tim Coulson, stated: “By offering to protect the benefits of members it’s great to be able to deliver our first deferred scheme.

"As we continue to focus on developing our capability, we look forward to participating in wider opportunities in a rapidly growing market.”

CMS partner, Natalie Mee, also highlighted the news as an “excellent outcome for the scheme and its members”.

“In an increasingly busy market, it’s great to see Canada Life completing their first deferred buy-in, and we were pleased to be a part of helping them reach this milestone, in the interests of our client,” she continued.

“It has been a pleasure to work so collaboratively with the trustee, Hymans Robertson and the Canada Life team on this transaction. A huge thank you to everyone involved for their hard work and positivity.”

This was echoed by Hymans Robertson head of core transactions, Iain Church, who highlighted the transaction as "a great milestone for the wider bulk annuity market", with another insurer having now developed the capability to insure deferred members.

“With increased market busyness making it harder for schemes of this size to get insurer engagement, this transaction shows there continues to be opportunities for schemes like this to secure an excellent transaction and pricing if they approach the market in the right way," he continued.

"This great outcome was only possible due to the effort and willingness of the scheme’s trustees, their advisers, and the team at Canada Life, and it was a pleasure to be a part of.”

Adding to this, Eversheds Sutherland partner, Mark Latimour, stated: “We are delighted to have supported Canada Life on their first ever deferred member transaction which represents the culmination of a significant work by the team at Canada Life to bring this to the bulk annuity market.  It’s a fantastic milestone for Canada Life.”

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