Unisys pension schemes complete £300m buy-in with Standard Life

Written by Sophie Smith

24/01/2024

The iPSL Section of the Unisys Payment Services Limited Pension Scheme and the Unisys Public Sector Pension Scheme have completed a £300m full scheme buy-in with Standard Life, covering the retirement benefits of around 2,400 scheme members.

After an initial market broking exercise in early 2023, the trustee of the schemes partnered with Standard Life to monitor the schemes’ positions over time, which allowed the trustees to complete the deal quickly and lock in favourable positions when affordability was reached in the second half of the year.

Mercer acted as the lead transaction adviser for the trustee, while Gowling WLG provided legal advice.

Trustee chair and Independent Governance Group trustee director, Hetal Kotecha, said that the “milestone step” was the culmination of a wider de-risking journey for the schemes with the support of the sponsoring employers.

“The trustee are very pleased to have secured these buy-in policies, significantly reducing risk and maintaining the security of our members’ benefits,” Kotecha continued.

“We are grateful to Standard Life and our advisers for their collaboration and energy in securing this opportunity, working effectively with the trustee and sponsors to execute quickly.”

Adding to this, Standard Life senior business development manager, Kieran Mistry, stated: “It was a pleasure to work collaboratively with the Trustee and their advisers over recent months to achieve this fantastic outcome.

"The co-operation and engagement of all parties was exceptional, facilitating these buy-ins on accelerated timelines, and re-enforcing the importance of being adaptable and agile.

“This transaction demonstrates the value of close partnerships between schemes and insurers, following the blueprint we have developed with a number of schemes over recent years.

“Processes like this benefit from focus, attention and preparation of all parties to identify and capture opportunities which would otherwise be missed in a conventional market broking process.”

Mercer risk transfer partner, Ben Stone, added: “This is a great outcome for the schemes, ensuring member benefit security against the backdrop of a record year in the bulk annuity market.

“We were pleased to be able to leverage our excellent relationship with Standard Life to achieve the trustee’s objectives, using our expertise and the groundwork developed over time to mobilise swiftly once the opportunity presented itself.”

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