Marine container asset leasing organisation Sea Containers has completed a £187 million bulk annuity buy-out transaction to insure the defined benefit (DB) pension liabilities for 750 pension scheme members.
The transaction, which was completed with Aviva, insures the DB pension liabilities of the Sea Containers 1983 Pension Scheme in order to secure benefits that are in excess of the compensation levels available through the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).
Link ATL Pension Trustees, part of Link Asset Services, is the professional trustee on the board, supported by the scheme’s long-standing trustees. The trustees were advised by consultancy Mercer and law firm Gowling WLG throughout the buy-out process.
Jane Fryer, chair of trustees at Link ATL Pension Trustees, said: “We are delighted to have been able to secure benefits for members above PPF compensation levels and to be in a position to wind up the scheme, some years since the scheme, together with the Sea Containers 1990 Pension Scheme, received the first financial support direction from The Pension Regulator. We feel the scheme has gained from recent competitive rates in the market.”
Stephen Purves, deal management lead at Aviva, added: “We’re continuing to see very strong demand for bulk annuity deals as more and more trustees and sponsoring employers look to de-risk their defined benefit pension schemes.”
