Regardless of the selected strategy, DB schemes must maintain agility in 2024 due to ongoing legislative changes. While the buy-in / buy-out market remains strong, the emergence of superfund transactions and other external capital options has broadened the landscape for schemes' endgame choices. Non-insurance alternatives may be more cost-effective and beneficial for members. With increased funding and minimal risk, run-on for schemes becomes more practical, with potential surplus returns to the sponsor. Regardless of the chosen path for your pension scheme, stay adaptable. Recent years have demonstrated the rapid evolution in the pension landscape, emphasising the importance of staying informed and seizing market opportunities.

This session will address:

• How to get endgame ready
• The pros and cons of various endgame options
• How to fully consider all the options available and what is best for your scheme

Economic conditions, and specifically market movements, have had a lasting impact on defined benefit (DB) funding levels. The Purple Book 2023 reported a surplus of £359bn in 2023, while the aggregate funding ratio increased to 134.3% from 113.1%, in 2022. But what does this mean for schemes in surplus today and achieving their member outcome objectives? This session will explore how best to put your surplus to work.

This session will address:

• What to consider when thinking about self-sufficiency
• The transfer from DB scheme surplus to DC schemes
• The option of paying members back
• Case study examples

With schemes getting closer to buy-out, many trustees are starting to get into the finer detail of how they should go about insuring the benefits in their scheme. Whilst insurers are flexible, there are certain design features or member options that insurers either aren’t able to provide, can’t easily administer or would be disproportionately expensive to insure.

This session will address:

• What benefit design features and options can cause problems for insurers?
• What are the options for dealing with them?
• A case study for removing a Pension Increase Exchange option before buy-out

In this session Legal & General will offer key insights into how schemes can bridge the gap to their preferred endgame destination. But with an extensive toolkit of options such as whether a scheme could achieve better results by running on while simultaneously fine-tuning alignment with buyout pricing, how to build in illiquid asset exposure, and the risks of missing a potentially ground-breaking opportunity to ‘set in stone’ today’s higher funding levels, the foundations for success will vary. Join Mat and his fellow financial engineer Natalie for what promises to be a highly constructive and insightful debate.

In November 2023 Clara-Pensions reached agreement with Trustees of the Sears Retail Pension Scheme to transfer members to Clara in the UK’s first pension superfund transaction. Sears’ c. 9,600 Scheme members became the first to enter a UK pension Superfund as they began their journey to an insured buyout. Clara to provided £30m of new capital to increase the security of members’ benefits. Transfer to Clara also received clearance from The Pensions Regulator.

In this session, Ashu and Jayne will address: 

• The transaction process
• How this improved outcomes for these members

• What are the challenges posed by illiquid assets?
• Is the traditional broking process still fit for purpose?
• What are the options to address the illiquids conundrum?

Smaller schemes, now positioned to consider buyout for member benefits, have significantly increased in the past year. The growing number of schemes achieving full buyout funding will intensify competition in the de-risking market, emphasising the need for thorough preparations. However, smaller schemes may face challenges, as insurers tend to prioritise larger, commercially attractive transactions. With the presence of a deal-making superfund and a proposed public sector consolidator focusing on the smaller segment, smaller schemes must keep their foot down now to achieve endgame.

This session will address:

• Is the market coping with increased demand as 2024 is predicted to be another bumper year
• How processes may differ for large and small schemes
• Exploring hurdles and how to manage them

• Best Delivery Model: How can schemes ensure they have the optimal delivery model for their unique needs?
• Derisking Plans Support: Ensuring administration aligns seamlessly with derisking strategies.
• Buyout Readiness: What does it truly mean for administration and data to be "buyout ready" in practice?
• Future Changes: Exploring the transformative changes in administration delivery and member experience post buy-in/buyout.

• How has the Mansion House reforms increased debate on schemes' endgame plans?
• What can we expect from the bulk annuity market this year?
• How are resourcing issues affecting schemes plans to buy-in/buyout?
• What key factors are insurers looking for when deciding to quote a case?
• Does the buy-in/buyout process vary with scheme/transaction size, and if so, how?
  

It's definitely not the end, and it shouldn't be a game where your members end up.

This session will address:

• An alternative overview of the current endgame landscape
• Whether all of the innovations truly deserve your attention

The session will put into context how third-party capital can support DB schemes in both the run up to buy-out when the scheme is in deficit and when running on in surplus. We’ll unpack the risks and challenges facing schemes in both phases and explain how third-party capital can mitigate them.

The majority of occupational defined benefit pension schemes in the UK are closed, with many maturing on a path which considers transacting with a pension insurer. These schemes are likely to have made sustainability-related commitments on behalf of their members, for example setting a net zero target, and want to know the extent to which the sustainability characteristics of a bulk annuity transaction will align with these commitments, both at the point of transaction and in the future.

This session will address:

• Key principles that help align expectations around sustainability before, during and after a buy-in or buy-out transaction
• How to use the recently launched Sustainability Principles Charter for the bulk annuity process in action
• What other schemes are doing in this space?