RSA U.K. Pension Trustees, a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corp., is de-risking roughly £6.5 billion in U.K. defined benefit pension liabilities with an annuity buy-in.
The deal, which will be completed with Pension Insurance Corp., will transfer all remaining economic and demographic risks associated with the Royal Insurance Group Pension Scheme and the Sal Pension Scheme, covering more than 40,000 plan members. It will also eliminate Intact’s obligation to contribute £75 million per year to the plans and release roughly £150 million of capital, which in aggregate is nearly equal to the upfront contribution.
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“The current market environment provides an excellent opportunity to remove U.K. pension exposure on [Intact’s] balance sheet,” said Louis Marcotte, executive vice-president and chief financial officer at Intact, in a press release. “This transaction represents a cost-effective de-risking, with the upfront payment approximately equal to the remaining annual funding contributions and the capital released.”