M&G has agreed its third bulk purchase annuity (BPA) deal since re-entering the market in 2023, signing a £309m premium on 15 March 2024.

It also revealed that it is aiming to achieve a £1bn - £1.5bn in BPA sales per annum going forward.

The group previously announced its return to the BPA market in September 2023, after agreeing two buy-in transactions totalling £617m.

This included a £331m buy-in transaction for one of its own pension schemes, the M&G Group Pension Scheme (M&GGPS), and a £286m bulk annuity deal for the Northern Bank Pension Scheme.

M&G was reformed from the de-merger of M&G Prudential in 2019, with the UK insurance business becoming part of M&G. The UK insurance business was active in the UK bulk annuity market between 1997 and 2016 under the brand Prudential.

Industry experts have suggested that growth in the BPA market as new entrants join could give defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees more power of choice, although it could also lead to some questions as trustees will have “even more insurers to consider when assessing newer entrants alongside established providers”.

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