The Workers Pension Trust (WPT) has completed its consolidation into the Cushon Master Trust, Cushon has announced.

This marks the first time since the master trust authorisation regime was introduced that an intra-group merger of an acquired master trust into another has been completed under ‘Continuity Option 1’ of the Pension Schemes Act 2017.

The merger of the master trust received approval from The Pensions Regulator in June 2023, after Cushon acquired WPT in June 2021.

Cushon said that merging WPT into the Cushon Master Trust was the “first key step” to fully consolidating members and providing them with access to Cushon’s mobile app, which would give members a “modern and convenient” way to engage with their pensions.

The firm acquired the Salvus Master Trust, which became the Cushon Master Trust, before the acquisition of WPT was followed by the purchase of Creative Pension Trust in January 2022.

Cushon noted that it was aiming to continue to identify future acquisition opportunities in the next 12-24 months.

WPT was an auto-enrolment master trust based in Northern Ireland, with more than 138,000 members and investments of over £330m.

Since it was acquired in 2021, WPT Master Trust had operated separately and with independent trustee boards but, following the merger, its assets and members have become part of the Cushon Master Trust under the governance of its trustee board.

Over the next 12 months, previous WPT members will be migrated to the Cushon tech platform, while a review by the Cushon Master Trust trustees of these members’ default and self-select funds is also underway.

“Cushon is walking the walk when it comes to consolidation,” said Cushon founder and CEO, Ben Pollard. “In just over three years we have acquired three master trusts.

“Acquiring master trusts is only the first step in the consolidation journey. The real win is merging them to create greater scale which is a good thing for pension savers.

“This merger is the first of its kind and with it Cushon is creating the blueprint for further industry consolidation.”

Cushon Master Trust chair, Roger Mattingly, added: “The merger of WPT into Cushon Master Trust is a first step on the consolidation journey. By consolidating two large workplace pension arrangements, the resources and financial support available to the Cushon Master Trust grows. This gives the board of trustees new opportunities to add value, with the aim of driving better outcomes.

“Members will not see immediate changes. However, as they are migrated to the Cushon platform in the coming months, they will gain access to Cushon’s app.

“Following the current review of the default and self-select funds, we anticipate that in the future, the WPT investments will likely switch to the Cushon Sustainable Investment Strategy.”

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