Risk transfer services for employers

Home Our services DB Employer services Risk transfer services

Securing defined benefits with an insurer can be the best option for employers

The risks of unforeseeable costs, open-ended liabilities and noncompliance can be significant for sponsoring employers of Defined Benefit schemes.

Buy-ins and buy-outs give employers the opportunity to eliminate those risks partially or in full.

With a buy-out, employers transfer their pension accountability and risks to an insurance company. With a buy-in, the employer retains some degree of pension responsibility, but the transaction would ensure that the income from the buy-in asset matches the benefits paid to the members covered by the policy.

How can First Actuarial help?

First Actuarial offers a tailored service to identify the right risk transfer solution for your organisation’s needs. Our specialist risk transfer team advises clients on both buy-outs and buy-ins and we work with all the insurers in the market.

For many employers, the cost of buy-out can seem prohibitive.

We understand what drives insurers’ costs, and we’ll set out the steps you can take to make savings. For example, we can estimate the cost of securing your liabilities against your scheme’s asset value and monitor it over time. This makes it easier to spot attractive and suitable risk transfer opportunities as soon as they arise.

Full buy-out is not always the answer. We use our knowledge of insurers and their costs to identify the approach that will deliver the best value for money.

Where the cost of a buy-out turns out to be prohibitive, we will help you consider the alternatives.

We never forget how worrying a buy-out can be for scheme members, as pension provision moves to an unfamiliar insurer. We can take their anxieties away by providing clear and comprehensive information at every stage.

We recommend this step-by-step approach

Step 1: Agree a suitable timescale

A risk management exercise is often a long-term project requiring responsible proactive management.

If you can’t afford to buy out straight away, a managed delay can get you to full buy-out cost-effectively, allowing good investment returns and additional employer contributions to build up over time.

We’ll take the time to understand your scheme. We’ll talk with you about your budget, your investment risk and your membership profile. And then we’ll set a timescale that works for you.

Step 2: Set the right investment policy

Setting the right investment strategy goes hand in hand with agreeing a suitable timescale. It’s about gauging how much your sponsor is willing to pay to control the risks involved in your scheme.

We will help you set the right strategy for you and your sponsor, and monitor it to make sure it remains appropriate for you.

With the Triggers tile of our Client Hub, you can reduce your investment risks if you find yourself ahead of schedule. This will make it much more likely that you will hit your buy-out target date.

Step 3: Sort out your data

Almost all schemes hold incorrect member data.

Over time, many schemes will have been administered by a series of providers, all with different practices. Legal views have changed too – yesterday’s approaches may not be acceptable today. And administration errors can easily build up.

Your data must be accurate if you plan to undertake a risk transfer exercise, and any Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs) need to be equalised.

If insurers aren’t confident that the data is in good order, they can charge a significantly higher premium.

Step 4: Set up liability reduction exercises

Liability management exercises can reduce your bulk annuity costs. Making an offer to members prior to buy-out can make sense to all parties. It may be financially advantageous to members in certain circumstances, and will also keep your costs down.

To manage any reputational risk and to treat members fairly, it’s important to explain such offers clearly and discuss the issues openly. That way, members will only accept the options you offer if they are right for them.

Why choose First Actuarial?

We offer in-depth experience and structured processes to simplify the complexities of risk transfer exercises such as buy-ins and buy-outs.

Our service delivers great value for money. We work on a fixed-fee basis whenever possible, and with our pragmatic approach we will offer you the most efficient path through to your risk transfer.

We specialise in transactions below £100m which, without the right approach, can be hard to run at a competitive price. A key element of our approach is our strong relationships with all the major insurance providers. They trust us to deliver on our commitments. This allows us to recommend the best insurers for you. Insurers are limited in the new business they can take on, and their first choice will be to work with consultants they trust.

Excellent administration is the cornerstone of a good buy-out process. This involves making sure the data is demonstrably accurate, and giving the insurer the confidence to offer their best price, knowing problems won’t arise later on.

A risk transfer exercise is a complicated process involving complex decisions. Here at First Actuarial we take the time to support you through the process, helping you make informed decisions at every stage.

We’ll work with you and your organisation in an ethical manner, offering the right options to your staff and explaining their options clearly. This will keep costs and reputational risk to a minimum.

Get in touch

Get in touch with one of our buy-out specialists to discuss how we can help you.

I'd like to find out more about buying-out my liabilities

We feel reassured that First Actuarial has provided us with advice that is credible, in a way which a lay person can readily understand. This has helped us make informed and far-reaching decisions in a complex area.

Risk transfer services for employers