The St Paul’s Cathedral Pension and Life Assurance Scheme has agreed an £18m bulk purchase annuity deal with Aviva, securing the retirement benefits for all members of the scheme.

The buy-in was completed without any additional contribution from the sponsoring employer, St Paul’s Cathedral, and has been highlighted as evidence of how smaller schemes that are well prepared can use streamlined services, such as LCP's, to achieve a competitive price.

The deal was executed within three weeks of selecting the preferred insurer, which LCP pointed to as demonstration of how its service reduces exposure to market risks and provides certainty to both trustees and insurers.

LCP also provided due diligence for the trustee on the insurer’s responsible investment approach, while more broadly, the trustees were advised by Stephenson Harwood, and Options Pensions.

Chair of trustees, Giles Orton, highlighted the deal as a "very important step" to reduce risk within the scheme and to improve the security of members’ benefits.

“It has been the longstanding aim of the trustee to achieve this and it has now been possible partly due to the financial support provided by the cathedral over many years and the recent improvements in the scheme assets," he continued.

“The trustees are grateful for the support of all our advisers to help us efficiently execute a transaction and take advantage of attractive market conditions.”

Adding to this, St Paul’s Cathedral director of corporate resources, Joanne Day, said: “The cathedral is fully supportive of this transaction and worked closely with the trustee throughout the process. This enhances the security of members benefits and frees up our assets to better support our mission.

“The advice from LCP enabled us to consider Aviva who provided a competitive quotation and aligned with our responsible investment principles”.

Also commenting on the deal, LCP partner, Tim Gilbert, said: “We are delighted to have helped advise on this excellent outcome for members of the scheme.

"This demonstrates the competitive insurer engagement and successful outcomes schemes can achieve in the current busy market if they are well prepared and approach the market using our streamlined buy-in and buyout process.”

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