Royal London enters bulk purchase annuity market

UK-based mutual insurer Royal London has announced its entry into the bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market, focusing on BPA transactions of up to £500 million in collaboration with trustees and advisers.

To support this initiative, Royal London has formed a team of 40 experts, led by Paul Bowker, Director of BPA Solutions. This team offers a wide range of skills and has extensive experience, having participated in numerous buy-ins and buyouts, from smaller deals to multi-billion-pound transactions, across various bulk annuity providers and consultancies.

This announcement represents a significant step in Royal London’s BPA strategy. This follows a £250 million full scheme buy-in policy with the Trustee of the Royal Liver UK Pension Scheme in November 2023, and a further £350 million buy-in policy in January 2024, aimed at insuring a specific subset of members in the Royal London Group Pension Scheme.

In July, the Group successfully completed its first transaction with an external pension scheme, securing a £30 million full scheme buy-in, followed by an additional £100 million transaction in September. These transactions highlight Royal London’s preparedness to enter the BPA market and support trustees effectively.

Barry O’Dwyer, Group Chief Executive Officer of Royal London, stated, “With an increasing number of pension schemes looking to meet their de-risking objectives, it’s an important time to be providing a mutual choice. Royal London is the only mutual in the BPA market, and we believe that will be a very attractive proposition for many trustees. We’re off to a strong start as we continue to focus on establishing a reputation as an insurer of choice for trustees and their advisers.”

Paul Bowker, Director of BPA Solutions at Royal London, said, “We have invested significantly to build a compelling bulk annuity offering for trustees and their members. They will be able to partner with a well-known mutual brand with proven financial strength, in the confidence we only have their members’, and all our customers’ interests, at the core of our long-term decision making.

“We will be building on our strong customer service credentials and delivering our BPA administration in-house to ensure we deliver the highest standards of service.”

This website states: The content on this site is sourced from the internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us and we will handle it promptly.