Risk Reduction

Around £17.5bn of buy-ins and buyouts were transacted in the first half of the year as market records continue to tumble.

Phoenix Life has completed a £1.1bn buy-in with its own defined benefit (DB) plan, the PGL Pension Scheme, it has announced.

Legal & General (L&G) completed £6.3bn of buy-ins and buyouts in the first six months of the year, with another £923m deal completed in July, the firm's half year results confirm.

The HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Scheme has hedged its longevity risk with Prudential Insurance Company of America (PICA) in the second-largest ever deal of its type.

Prudential Insurance Company of America (PICA) has launched a reinsurance counterparty, lending support to insurers that account for more than 90% of the UK pension risk transfer market.

The British American Tobacco (BAT) UK Pension Fund has completed a £3.4bn buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), the largest buy-in transaction including pensioner and deferred members.

The government is consulting on merging the £0.5bn West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority Pension Fund (WMITAPF) with the £15.7bn West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF).

Tendencies to prefer the status quo and familiar names can result in slower or more irrational decisions, Aon says. James Phillips explores the impediments to risk settlement.

The lifeboat fund is in a good position despite reserves taking a £0.6bn hit. But the ramifications of the EU judgment on member compensation is an area of concern for CEO Oliver Morley, writes Stephanie Baxter

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has announced plans to raise further debt capital in order to support business growth in a burgeoning bulk annuity market.