Smiths Group’s TI Group Pension Scheme has completed a £640m buy-in with Rothesay, insuring the benefits of more than 8,750 members.

The deal is the scheme’s seventh bulk annuity transaction, and its third with Rothesay, and protects the benefits of all remaining uninsured members, consisting around 800 pensioners and approximately 7,950 deferred pensions.

The scheme has now completed its de-risking journey, following seven buy-ins over the past 14 years, and will progress to buyout and windup over “the coming years”.

Rothesay has been working in partnership with the scheme on the deal for nine months and residual risks are insured for all members covered by the insurer.

The lead broker on the transaction was Aon, while legal advice was provided to the trustee by Mayer Brown and to Rothesay by Travers Smith, DLA Piper and Eversheds.

“Having worked with the scheme for over a decade, we are delighted to support them in delivering their final buy-in on the way to achieving a full scheme buyout and wind-up,” commented Rothesay co-head of business development, Sammy Cooper-Smith.

“Rothesay’s sophisticated purpose-built technology allowed us to work collaboratively to design a solution that achieves long-term security for the scheme, achieving the final part of its overarching de-risking strategy. Market demand for de-risking remains strong this year, and we are well-positioned to help more schemes secure their pension liabilities.”

TI Group Pension Scheme chair of the trustee, Chris Surch, said: “We are delighted to have agreed this final bulk annuity transaction for our members. It provides them with long-term financial security and completes our de-risking journey.

“Rothesay’s dedication to delivering an appropriate solution was invaluable in completing the transaction. As the UK’s largest specialist insurer of pensions, Rothesay is an ideal partner for the TI Group Pension Scheme and our members can be confident that their future payments are securely protected.”

Aon partner, John Baines, added: “This transaction completes the scheme’s phased buy-in approach and is the culmination of an insurance de-risking journey over the past 14 years. The approach to insuring risk as soon as it becomes affordable is a blueprint for how to reach buyout efficiently.

“Having led the previous six transactions, we were able to negotiate a strong outcome for this transaction, providing residual risks cover and delivering financial security to members for the future.”

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