The ICI Pension Fund has completed a £750m pension buy-in transaction with Legal & General, as a result of the EU referendum result.

ICI initiated the pension risk transfer deal with L&G soon after the EU Referendum in order to take advantage of increased market opportunities. The deal was signed eight days after the vote on 23 June.

The pension fund has now completed £5bn in pension risk transfers with L&G since 2014.

Earlier in June this year, ICI completed a £630m buy-in with Scottish Widows and added the firm to its insurer panel alongside Prudential and L&G. Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP) acted as the lead advisor on all transactions.

It comes as a significant number of pension funds have been moving towards an incremental approach to pension risk transfer including pensioner buy-ins, top-slicing and longevity insurance.

“The impact of the Brexit vote reduced the cost of the transaction by an estimated £10m, bringing it within the Fund’s target metrics” said LCP partner Clive Wellsteed.

ICI Pension Fund CEO Heath Mottram commented: “The fund’s strong governance and ability to move quickly was invaluable in taking advantage of this opportunity to further de-risk the fund. This was our ninth transaction since March 2014 and LCP's commitment, energy and enthusiasm for delivering an exceptional service to the trustee is as strong now as it was the day they were appointed.”

L&G has now completed individual and bulk annuity business of £4.5bn in the year to date in comparison to full year annuity sales of £2.7bn last year.

Commenting on the transaction, L&G Retirement head of strategic pension risk transfer Cheryl Agius said: “The strength and depth of our relationship with ICI Pension Fund enabled us move fast when the market opportunity presented itself. The result is a further step forward in the de-risking programme which we are helping the ICI Pension Fund Trustees to deliver for their scheme members.”

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