Northern Powergrid Pension Scheme, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, hired BlackRock to provide all investment management, communication and administration services for its trust-based defined contribution plan, said a spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid.
The DC plan has £27 million ($40.6 million) in assets and 1,500 participants.
Changes to the U.K.’s retirement market, which resulted in greater freedoms for participants to invest their assets beyond retirement rather than purchasing an annuity to provide income, prompted the sponsoring employer to search for a DC provider to meet the changes.
The spokeswoman said Prudential Financial was the previous provider for the plan. The plan’s consultant, KPMG, oversaw a competitive procurement process, said a news release from Northern Powergrid. Further details were not available by press time.
