Utmost Life and Pensions confirms entrance to bulk purchase annuity market

The company is the latest to join the bulk purchase annuity market following other additions last year.

Fund Operator Editor POSTED ON 1/13/2025 8:00:00 AM

@Utmost Life and Pensions.

Utmost Life and Pensions has said it has entered into the bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market.

The company said in its official press statement on the move that it had appointed new leadership, built a team of over 20 people focused on BPA and successfully transacted with two external pension schemes in Q4 2024.

The company, building on its existing annuity business, has established a “strong and credible” offering to address the significant demand for pension risk transfer in the UK, it said.

“With the BPA market projected to generate over £400 billion in volumes over the next decade [according to the LCP Pension Risk Transfer Report – October 2024], Utmost Life and Pensions offers a new and attractive choice for pension schemes to secure their members’ benefits,” it said.

The endeavour will be led by Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Stoker, who has been appointed following the retirement of Stephen Shone.

Stoker is a qualified actuary and was most recently the Chief Financial Officer at Rothesay, a position he held for nine years.

Utmost Life and Pensions said it had established a strong pipeline for 2025 and is “confident it can deliver on its growth ambitions”, which incorporate a target market share of over 5% within five years.

"We are building a compelling proposition for pension scheme  trustees and members."

“To support this growth and deliver high quality client and customer service, Utmost Life and Pensions has, in addition to the team of over 20 experts, developed partnerships with Schroders and Mantle Services,” it said. “These capabilities enable Utmost Life and Pensions to provide an efficient onboarding process, in-house client administration, asset management, and migration from buy-in to buy out.”

The company has reported two deals so far. In November it was publicised that Isio and Utmost had reached a deal worth £20 million.

"Utmost Life and Pensions now has a strong platform for competing in the BPA market and we are building a compelling proposition for pension scheme trustees and members,” said Stoker in the press release.

The BPA market has become considerably more crowded in recent times due to the high value in the UK. In September 2024, Royal London announced it had entered the market.

M&G also announced its first deal in the market in November.

Other bulk annuity insurers currently in the market are Aviva, Canada Life, Just Group, Legal & General, Pension Insurance Corporation, Rothesay, Scottish Widows, and Standard Life.

In July 2024, it was disclosed that the Aylesbury-headquartered business had also purchased Lombard International for an undisclosed sum. 

 

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