The Association of British Insurers (ABI) pension and assurance scheme has completed an £18.4m buyout with Just Group.

The transaction secures the benefits of all remaining members of the scheme, sponsored by the ABI, and comprises 16 pensioner members and 118 deferred members, with the scheme having insured its other pensioners in previous transactions.

The scheme received legal advice from Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP, with Just Group using internal legal counsel. The deal completed in June this year.

Head of defined benefit sales at Just Group, Peter Jennings, said: “We are delighted to have been able to fully insure the remaining members of the ABI Scheme enabled by our highly successful bulk quotation service. While the defined benefit de-risking market looks set to remain busy for some time this transaction shows there’s still plenty of competition and appetite to help schemes of all sizes secure their members’ future pensions.”

Chair of trustees at the ABI’s pension and assurance scheme, Alan Ritchie, added: “I’m delighted we have been able to secure the remaining payments for members in this scheme. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work from trustees, our advisers and the ABI over recent years to work towards this important milestone. The other trustees and I were impressed with the speed at which Just could move, pleased with the pricing agreed. Overall, this is great news for members of the ABI pension scheme.”

Head of risk transfer at Independent Governance Group, the scheme’s professional trustee, Akash Rooprai, concluded: “This deal secures the future for the remaining members of The Scheme. Through Just Group’s streamlined service we were able to move very quickly to exclusivity and then execute a successful transaction for all parties. In a busy and competitive market, tools like Just Group’s bulk quotation service are increasingly important in helping schemes of varied sizes and memberships reach an end-game. IGG were appointed at the end of March and we completed this transaction in July – the ability to move quickly when pricing is on target was a key factor in this successful transaction.”

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