The Sanofi Pension Scheme has completed a £1.4bn buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society Limited, securing the benefits of 4,900 retirees and 5,600 deferred members.

This transaction marks a further buy-in with L&G by the scheme, following a £760m partial buy-in announced in 2021, and means that all scheme members are now insured through buy-ins with L&G.

The scheme benefited from an umbrella agreement established with L&G as part of the 2021 buy-in, ensuring a “very smooth” documentation process.

L&G received legal advice from Slaughter and May, while Aon acted as the risk settlement adviser to the trustee, and legal advice was provided by CMS.

Sanofi Pension Scheme trustee secretary, Hannah Absolom, said the trustee was “delighted” to have now achieved pension security for all scheme members.

She stated: “The trustee selected L&G following a rigorous selection process and it has been a tremendous effort by all parties, with special thanks to Aon for leading the process, and to the CMS, XPS, and Aptia teams in supporting the trustee through the transaction.”

Adding to this, L&G Institutional Retirement CEO, Andrew Kail, said the buy-in “strengthened” its existing relationship with the client and creates greater security for its members.

Aon partner, Mike Edwards, said: “This £1.4bn transaction required a high degree of insurer flexibility and innovation, and we developed solutions in conjunction with L&G.

“In an increasingly busy market for large pension schemes looking to de-risk via insurance, this transaction highlights that the best value can be achieved by schemes with well-defined requirements and a collaborative stakeholder group.

“The result here is an excellent outcome for the scheme’s members.”

CMS partner, Maria Rodia, said this “landmark” buy-in improves security for scheme members, as well as reducing risk to the scheme and the employer group, and is a “testament to the collaborative effort of all the parties involved”.

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

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