British luxury interior design and furnishings company Sanderson Design Group has finalised an agreement with the trustees of the Abaris Holdings Limited Pension Scheme in which it has paid £2.3m in cash to enable the transfer of the scheme’s risks to an insurer under a buy-in insurance policy investment.
In addition to the agreed cash amount, which was funded from the group’s existing resources, the insurer has also received the Abaris Scheme’s existing investments as part of the buy-in investment. Scheme administration and advisory costs, estimated to be approximately £700,000 in total, will continue to be paid by the group over the life of the pension scheme but the core financial and demographic risks associated with funding member benefits has transferred to the insurer. The ongoing costs will not impact the group’s adjusted profit before tax.
The Abaris Scheme, a defined benefit scheme with 59 retirees and 60 deferred participants, is the smaller of two legacy pension schemes operated by the group. It has been closed to new entrants and future defined benefit service accrual since 2005.