The bulk annuity market in the UK saw £15.1bn worth of transactions in the first half of 2024 across a "record" number of deals, research from Aon has found.

The number of deals, amounting to 133, was the most for any half in the past decade, compared to 205 deals in 2022 and 226 deals in 2023.

Aon said this represented a “significant” increase in the number of transactions compared to previous years, highlighting a demand for bulk annuities.

In addition to this, the sub-£100m market experienced significant growth over H1 2024, representing 83 per cent of transactions completed, proving that the bulk annuity market is open for all sizes of pension schemes.

The consultancy expects the UK bulk annuity market to be "very busy" over the second half of the year, and to be dominated by several deals worth £1bn and over expected to transact.

Aon also suggested that volumes for the year could be in the region of £40bn-£50bn but will depend on the number of £1bn and over pension schemes that transact before the end of 2024.

According to the report, streamlined services have made it easier for insurers to prince schemes in volumes.

The research also found a key trend across the whole market was that deals have become dominated by full scheme transactions, as of the 133 in H1 2024, five were pensioner-only deals.

Aon suggested that this reflected the improvement in funding levels and reinsurance costs making deferred members less expensive to secure.

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