The Charities Aid Foundation Pension Scheme has completed a £12m buy-in with Just Group, securing the retirement benefits of 64 pensioners and 155 deferred members.

K3 Advisory led on the deal, which completed in June, while Broadstone provided actuarial and administrative services on the deal, LCP acted as investment advisers and Osborne Clarke acted as legal advisors.

Commenting on the deal, K3 Advisory senior actuarial consultant, Thomas Crawshaw, said: “This scheme had some unique elements that needed careful handling, including flexibilities in the benefit structure which needed to be covered in a way that the trustees were happy to support.

“Despite the complexities of this transaction, we made it work through our deep market knowledge and collaboration with the other expert advisors on this deal. We are pleased that we were able to secure these benefits for the members of the scheme.”

This was echoed by trustee chair, David Locke, who said that the scheme’s “primary focus” throughout the process was to safeguard the member’s benefits.

“With the expertise of K3 Advisory, Just Group, and the specialist teams, we were able to successfully navigate this scheme’s unique benefit structure,” he stated.

“The professional and tactical approach of everyone allowed a successful outcome, ensuring not only immediate protection but also long-term stability for the members.”

Just Group business development manager, Kishan Radia, also highlighted the transaction as evidence of a “vibrant bulk annuity market that’s working for schemes of all sizes”.

“We’re very pleased to have secured the benefits for all the 219 members of the Charities Aid Foundation Pension Scheme,” Radia said.

“This deal required a detailed understanding of the scheme’s specific benefit structure, and working closely with K3, meant together we were able to address these challenges smoothly and efficiently.”

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