BP in talks with insurers over buy-in deal for £30bn pension scheme

Written by Adam Cadle

07/07/2023

BP is in talks with insurers over a so-called buy-in deal for its £30bn pension scheme, the Financial Times (FT) has reported.

Trustees of BP’s UK defined benefit scheme are in talks with multiple insurers to take over liabilities of the British oil company's UK final salary plan

Companies have been looking to offload pension schemes from their balance sheets in recent years as they are expensive to run. These bulk annuity deals have proved to be a growing source of income for insurers.

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) agreed in February to a pension buy-in deal with insurer RSA Group for around £6.5bn. The deal covered the pensions of 40,000 members, in the largest ever bulk annuity deal of its kind.

BP Pension Fund Trustee said in an email statement: "As trustee, we have a duty to continually review and assess all investment options to manage the security of the fund and members' benefits. Such options include long-term insurance policies.

"Investing in such a policy would not amount to selling the fund, which would continue to operate as normal under the oversight of its independent trustee board."

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