Aviva secures £120m full scheme buy-in of NTL 1999 pension scheme

Written by Dan McGrath

20/07/2023

Aviva has announced that it has secured a £120m full scheme buy-in of National Transcommunication Limited (NTL) 1999 pension scheme, insuring the defined benefit liabilities for around 650 members.

The deal, which was completed in March, removes the investment and longevity risk of the members from the scheme, who are previous staff members of NTL. As a result, they will see no change in the amount of their benefits of the way in which they are paid, following the Aviva transaction.

The tender process was led on behalf of the trustees by XPS Pension Group, with Evershed Sutherland providing legal advice.

In light of the buy-in, head of bulk purchase annuity origination at Aviva, Jamie Cole, said: “We are delighted that the trustees of the scheme chose Aviva to secure member benefits. All parties have collaborated to deliver a very smooth transaction. Our focus now is to work closely with the trustees to ensure the transition is managed as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Chair of trustees at NTL 1999 pension scheme, Ross Russell, added: “The trustees are really pleased to have insured substantially all of our members’ benefits with Aviva. This transaction achieves maximum security for members’ benefits whilst stabilising the funding position of the scheme. We have been working towards this goal over a number of years and found it really beneficial to work closely and collaboratively with our advisers. We are delighted with the outcome of the project.”

Partner at XPS Pension Group, Ash Williams, concluded: “We are delighted to have completed this transaction on behalf of the trustees, which represents a culmination of years of strategic planning and preparation to get the Scheme ‘transaction ready’. As a result of this preparatory work, we were able to move really quickly when the market opportunity presented itself and managed to get strong engagement across the market, securing great terms for the scheme’s members with Aviva.”

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