Author: Greg Winterton

The increasing role – and influence – of ‘private equity’ firms in the US pension risk transfer (PRT) market in recent years has caught the attention of the media, regulators, and litigators.

Mark Sharkey, BPA Origination Lead, Royal London shares his views on the state of the market and its outlook for 2025.

Reverse mortgage securitisation activity is set to pick up in the coming years.

The £120m agreement insures Lufthansa Group’s three UK defined benefit pension schemes in one integrated transaction.

The transaction secures the benefits of all 154 members, comprising 37 pensioners and 117 deferred members.

More than 15,000 customers were active in one quarter for the first time in over a year, according to industry group the Equity Release Council.

£1.4bn buy-in secures the benefits of 4,900 retirees and 5,600 deferred members.

The insurance market has responded to meet the growing demand for de-risking solutions for defined benefit pension funds with both innovation and new participants – and further developments are anticipated.

The UK defined benefit pensions de-risking market is likely to see £50bn in bulk annuity transactions and £20bn in longevity swaps in 2025, according to WTW’s annual De-risking Report.

LaBert most recently served as CEO at the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies.