The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has partnered with consultancy Mercer to offer specialist support around discontinuance administration for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.

The move is in response to growing demand within the industry for services that relate to approaches to solvent buy-outs, insolvency administration and overall pension scheme cessations.

Vince Linnane, chief executive at the PMI, said: “Discontinuance in schemes is a hot topic for much of the industry, so we were keen to be able to provide some thought-leading insight into this important area for our members and the wider industry.

“Our intention has been to provide information and support for managing the process when these situations arise, and we are therefore very pleased that Mercer's discontinuance administration solutions will be sharing its expertise within this niche sector with us and our members.”

Neil Bolding, head of scheme discontinuance within outsourcing at Mercer, added: “When schemes trigger wind-up or commit to a potential buy-out or buy-in, they may be requiring solutions and expertise beyond their own and their current administrator’s capabilities.

“Our service and partnership with the PMI aims to promote the knowledge and expertise required when dealing with such a large and complex process.”

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