The Combined Newell and Record Section of the Newell Rubbermaid UK Pension Scheme has agreed to a £225m (€268m) buy-in deal with Legal & General Assurance Society.
The transaction secures the benefits of more than 800 retirees and 900 deferred members, it was announced.
The sponsoring company, Newell Brands (formerly Newell Rubbermaid), said this is the scheme’s second buy-in transaction with Legal & General. It follows an existing buy-in with the Combined Parker and Sanford Section of the scheme.
Legal & General provided a price lock to the value of the scheme’s portfolio of Gilts. This gave the scheme price certainty over the year-end and into 2022, while the terms of the buy-in were being agreed, the announcement noted.
Steve Southern, chair of trustees at 20-20 Trustees, said: “This transaction is a key step in our de-risking of the scheme and delivers a superb outcome for our members by providing greater security of their benefits.”
Rachel Cutts, director at Legal & General Retirement Institutional, added: “Our tailored price locks provide price certainty for trustees, particularly during the current period of high market volatility. We’re pleased to have been able to provide this certainty for the trustee and to complete a further transaction with the scheme, which is now on the final stretch of its de-risking journey.”
The sponsor and trustee were advised on the transaction by Aon and legal advice was provided by Pinsent Masons. Clifford Chance provided legal advice to Legal & General.
Courier Hermes offers workplace pensions for couriers
Delivery firm Hermes UK will auto-enrol its self-employed plus (SE+) couriers into a pension scheme by the end of this year.
The firm, which has today announced a rebrand into a new brand entity called Evri, employs more than 30,000 UK couriers and has said the move represents a £7m (€8.4m) plus investment each year in the earnings security of its SE+ couriers, who make up 85% of its overall network.
A spokesperson from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) said: “We welcome the steps Evri (formerly Hermes UK) is taking to give workers access to pensions saving. We want to see eligible workers in the gig economy receive the pensions they are entitled to.”
The spokesperson added: “The gig economy is set to grow further as the UK emerges from the pandemic and businesses recover, and it is only right that workers contributing to the economy have the opportunity to save for retirement.”
TPR’s spokesperson noted that employers in the gig economy should recognise and comply with their automatic enrolment responsibilities “voluntarily and promptly”.
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