College of Law pension scheme agrees £85m buy-in with Royal London

The College of Law Pension and Assurance Scheme has agreed an £85m buy-in with Royal London, meaning that all scheme liabilities are now fully covered by insurance contracts.

Hymans Robertson and Linklaters advised the trustees on the buy-in, while Royal London were advised by Hogan Lovells.

The deal, which marked the ninth buy-in secured by Royal London’s bulk purchase annuity (BPA) business to date, means that the group has now passed the milestone of £1bn of liabilities insured, with three further pension schemes in exclusive contract negotiations.

Royal London said that it worked closely with the pension scheme trustees and their advisers to progress the transaction whilst monitoring pricing to ensure the transaction aligned with scheme affordability.

Lead trustee at Dalriada Trustees, Tiziana Perrella, also emphasised the importance of collaboration, explaining that the trustees worked closely with their advisers and Royal London to navigate a period of "significant" market volatility.

"The trustees conducted an in-depth due diligence analysis of Royal London's financial position and administration capabilities as part of their decision-making process and were satisfied that they were a robust and reliable counterparty for the transaction," Perrella said.

BPA origination lead at Royal London, Mark Sharkey, added: "We're thrilled to reach this important milestone as a business with The College of Law Pension and Assurance Scheme transaction.

"We've been in discussions with Tiziana and the wider trustee board since late last year. It was a real team effort with them and Hymans Robertson to ensure everything was ready for when the 'affordability stars' aligned."

Also commenting on the deal, senior risk transfer at Hymans Robertson, Claire O'Neill, said: "It has been a pleasure to work with the trustees over many years on their de-risking journey.

"Diligent preparation has meant that the trustees were well-placed to move quickly to capture the opportunity to insure members' benefits at an accelerated pace. We look forward to continuing to support the trustees in the important post-transaction work."



Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.


Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.