RetailLink Management Ltd. Pension Plan, Solihull, England, agreed to a pension buy-in arrangement with Legal & General Group, covering £35 million ($58.7 million) of liabilities, according to statements from Legal & General and the pension fund's sponsoring company, Enterprise Inns PLC.
The size of the pension fund could not be learned by press time.
The buy-in features a deferred premium arrangement, according to L&G, under which the trustees of the pension fund fully insure benefits for the defined benefit plan participants, “with payment of a proportion of the full premium to be made over the next four years.”
The agreement covers liabilities for almost 100 participants.
“The arrangement allows the trustees to fully insure the identified plan liabilities from day one yet also provides the flexibility to spread (out) part of the insurance premium, which helps to achieve greater certainty over future contribution requirements for the plan's employer,” said Tom Ground, head of bulk annuities and longevity insurance for L&G's retirement business, in a news release from L&G.
“The trustees are pleased to have been able to arrange the long-term security of benefits for the plan's members by entering into this bulk annuity arrangement with L&G,” said Simon Townsend, trustee of the pension fund, in the news release.
Once Enterprise Inns completes the deferred premium installment payments over the next four years, Mr. Townsend said the trustees “will then be able to arrange for L&G to issue individual annuity policies to members.”
Mercer advised and Travers Smith was legal adviser to the trustees.
