British American Tobacco locks in pension buy-in for remainder of U.K. plan

British American Tobacco UK Pension Fund, London, insured £250 million ($305 million) in liabilities through a buy-in with Pension Insurance Corp., according to a news release Thursday.

PIC has now insured all of the fund's liabilities, covering 10,000 plan participants.

The latest deal follows the fund's first £3.4 billion buy-in completed in May 2019 and a buy-in deal in 2021 that covered £400 million in liabilities.

Trustees were advised by consultant Lane Clark & Peacock on all three transactions.

Linklaters provided legal advice to the trustee, while consultant Hymans Robertson acted as the plan's actuary.

PIC was advised by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

"After many years of de-risking the fund we are pleased to have reached a major milestone of having all our liabilities insured with PIC. This is another step towards the trustee's objective of increasing the security of members' benefits and reducing risk," Graeme Munro, chairman of the fund, said in the release.

Yadu Dashora, partner at LCP and lead trustee adviser, added in the release that the fund required bespoke arrangement to accommodate illiquid assets.