An unnamed pension scheme in the oil and gas industry has completed a £48m full-scheme buy-in with Canada Life.

The bulk purchase annuity deal secured the future benefits of more than 500 pensioner and deferred scheme members.

WTW acted as the lead broker on the deal, as well as the scheme actuary, investment adviser, and administrator, through its OneDB offering.

Pinsent Masons provided the trustees with legal advice, while Canada Life was advised by its in-house legal team.

“We are proud to have supported the trustees through a significant de-risking milestone for the scheme and a major step forward in securing the long-term retirement income of its members,” said Canada Life business development manager, bulk purchase annuities, Andrew Nicolaou.

“Drawing on Canada Life’s financial strength and extensive experience in the bulk annuity market, delivering this buy-in solution reduces volatility for the sponsor while delivering stability and security for both the scheme and members long term.”

WTW risk transfer director, Tom Ashworth, added: “Since our appointment as full-service adviser in 2019, it has been a pleasure to work closely with the trustee and sponsor to develop and deliver the transaction strategy – managing illiquid assets, securing bespoke benefit features, and ultimately enhancing benefits for members.

“It was great to secure this deal, working closely with the teams at Pinsent Masons and Canada Life to deliver a successful outcome for our client and scheme members.

“We’re continuing to see a huge amount of activity in this part of the market. Smaller schemes now have a choice of insurer and can secure bespoke transaction features if they approach the market strategically.”

This article was first published on our sister title Pensions Age.

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