The Institution of Mechanical Engineers Pension Scheme in the UK has concluded a £40m buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covering the pensions of all 200 scheme members.

Barnett Waddingham acted as actuarial, administration, investment and risk transfer advisers for the trustees, while legal advice was provided to the trustees by Sackers. Meanwhile, PIC was advised by CMS.

Commenting on the deal, chair of trustees, Isobel Pollock-Hulf, said it is a “great achievement” to reach this "significant milestone".

“This is the culmination of many years of hard work by trustees past and present, which would not have been possible without the institution’s diligent support of the scheme,” she said.

“We would also like to thank our advisers Barnett Waddingham and Sackers for their leadership through the scheme’s journey to this stage, and PIC for working with the trustees to achieve this buy-in transaction.”

Adding to this, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers president, Matt Garside, said the institution is “delighted” the scheme has been able to reach this agreement with PIC, calling it a “very positive outcome”.

“Members’ benefits remain safe, and this is a simpler way of managing this pension scheme, allowing the institution to focus on its strategy and purpose,” Garside said.

“We are pleased to have worked closely with the trustees and their advisers to support the scheme to complete this transaction.”

Echoing this sentiment, PIC head of pricing and funded reinsurance, Richard Quintian, said PIC is “delighted” to have worked with the trustees of the scheme and looks forward to collaborating to provide the scheme members with a “smooth” transition to becoming PIC policyholders.

Barnett Waddingham risk transfer partner, Nikhil Patel, commented: “The scheme is one of Barnett Waddingham’s longstanding clients, and our team has worked with the trustees over many years to help make their goal of insuring all benefits a reality.

“We worked closely with the trustees to ensure the scheme was well-placed to obtain competitive proposals from insurers and also with the Joint Working Group to ensure that all stakeholders were suitably engaged throughout.”

This article was first published on our sister website, Pensions Age.

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