Three defined benefit (DB) pension schemes previously sponsored by Thomas Cook Group have completed full-scheme buy-ins with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) for a total of £50m.

The three schemes entered Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment in September 2019 following the liquidation of Thomas Cook Group.

These three buy-in transactions secure the liabilities of 520 members across the schemes to receive benefits at or above PPF compensation levels.

The exact outcome for each scheme member will not be clear until the buyouts occur, which is expected to happen during 2024 once further work has been completed for each scheme and they can be fully transferred to PIC.

This process is expected to be completed towards the end of 2024 once the schemes have received all monies due to them from Thomas Cook’s liquidation.

Once this happens, the scheme members will come out of the PPF and become direct PIC policyholders.

During the buy-in period, the schemes will continue to be protected by the PPF.

Commenting on the announcement, Open Trustees managing director and sole trustee to the schemes, Jonathan Hazlett, said: “We are delighted to have entered into these buy-in policies with PIC.

“The insurance market is extremely busy at the current time and it can be very challenging to secure member benefits for smaller schemes.

“It has been a long process but PIC has offered us the opportunity to ensure that the schemes’ members receive benefits greater than what they would have received from the PPF.”

PIC co-head of origination, Tristan Walker-Buckton, added: “Many much larger schemes are now seeking to de-risk this year, so demonstrating that PIC is interested in the whole buyout market and has the adaptability and scale to accommodate all sizes of deal is important to us.

“Open Trustees have now been able to completely de-risk these three schemes, providing greater security to the members.”

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