Longevity swaps
Exclusive: Market volatility to spur £30bn of buy-ins and buyouts in 2021
Pension risk transfer volumes this year will look similar to those in 2020 as market volatility creates opportunities for schemes able to act fast, according to Willis Towers Watson.
List: The biggest UK longevity swaps
There have now been a total of 32 longevity swaps over £1bn publicly announced. The full list, provided by Willis Towers Watson and through PP research, is as follows...
Barclays Retirement Fund completes £5bn longevity swap with Reinsurance Group of America
The Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund has completed a £5bn longevity swap with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA).
Prudential agrees £3.7bn longevity swap with Pacific Life
The Prudential Staff Pension Scheme has entered into a £3.7bn longevity swap with Pacific Life Re, insuring the longevity risk of over 20,000 pensioners.
Self-sufficiency falls in popularity as long-term objective
Fewer pension schemes are targeting self-sufficiency as their long-term objective while bulk annuity pricing improves and the consolidation market opens up.
Market growing for longevity swaps for deferred members
Longevity swap usage is expected to grow further as more reinsurers enter the market to hedge the risk of deferred members, according to Mercer.
LV= converts longevity swap into £800m buy-in with Phoenix Life
The LV= Employee Pension Scheme has agreed a buy-in of around £800m with Phoenix Life after converting an existing longevity swap.
The changing ways of hedging longevity risk
Nikhil Patel looks at how schemes have hedged longevity over the last decade, and how this will develop in the future.
Lloyds schemes agree £10bn longevity swap with Pacific Life Re
Three Lloyds Banking Group pension schemes have transferred £10bn of longevity risk to Pacific Life Re in the second-largest longevity swap ever.
Longevity swap market to post record year
Longevity swap transactions will hit a record-breaking level of £25bn this year, Willis Towers Watson has predicted.
Pensions too complicated for general election campaigns
Pensions are too complicated a topic for political parties to discuss in any detail on the general election campaign trail, a majority of this week’s 110 Pensions Buzz respondents said.
How wearables will disrupt life expectancy
There are a wide range of possible life expectancy disruptors. PwC's Paul Kitson looks at how one of these, wearables, could impact schemes.
Bulk annuity market breaks yet another record with £17bn of first half deals
Around £17.5bn of buy-ins and buyouts were transacted in the first half of the year as market records continue to tumble.
HSBC scheme completes £7bn longevity swap with PICA
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.
Applying behavioural science to pensions risk settlement
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.
Managing longevity swap collateral
Robert Wagstaff and Caroline Cruickshank assess the benefits of using third-parties to help manage longevity swap valuation and collateralisation
Converting longevity swaps into bulk annuities: The next de-risking innovation?
Longevity hedges have long been considered a hurdle to doing a bulk annuity, but a ground-breaking deal shows it doesn't have to be. Stephanie Baxter looks at why converting swaps into buy-ins is taking off.
A dip or a blip: What do falling life expectancies mean for DB schemes?
Mortality improvements have declined for yet another year, ducking previous estimates. James Phillips explores what this means for pension schemes
Phoenix Life's £1.2bn buy-in for own scheme is biggest transaction for 2016
Phoenix Life has announced it completed a buy-in for its UK defined benefit (DB) scheme last December, making it the largest de-risking transaction of the year.
Aon urges continued caution on longevity price dislocation
Aon Hewitt is reiterating its call for pension schemes to review the emerging lower rates of UK mortality improvement to ensure fair pricing of longevity insurance transactions.
Annuity deals hit £18bn in 2016
The total value of annuity deals was 30% higher in 2016 than at the previous market peak in 2014, Aon Hewitt's UK Risk Settlement Bulletin has revealed.
Five stories you might have missed this week
This week's top stories included British Steel trustees rejecting an "unviable plan" to rescue the scheme, and Baroness Ros Altmann calling on the government to amend section 75 debt regulations.
Zurich and Mercer complete £300m longevity hedge swap
Zurich has completed a £300m longevity hedge swap with an undisclosed pension scheme of a small firm, marking its fifth such deal in 13 months.
Schemes should delay longevity swap transactions due to pricing dislocation
Schemes should consider delaying longevity swap transactions as lower rates of mortality improvement have led to a dislocation in pricing says Aon Hewitt.
Most read
