Key Takeaways
- • Pension Insurance Corp. (PIC) completed a 540 million pound (about $676.93 million) annuity buy-in with the C. & J. Clark Pension Fund, the defined benefit plan of U.K. shoe retailer C. & J. Clark International Ltd., covering 8,000 members.
- • The transaction is PIC's second with Clarks; the first, a 280 million pound deal, was completed in 2022, and the latest insures all of the plan's remaining liabilities, which totaled 820 million pounds.
- • Clarks CFO Philip Yau said the deal achieves the company's long-standing ambition to fully buy in the plan and eliminates pension-related balance sheet volatility.
- • The deal is among the first U.K. pension risk transfers of 2025, following a record year for U.K. PRT volume; Lane Clark & Peacock expects 40 billion to 50 billion pounds of annuity buy-in volume and more than 300 transactions in 2025.
Summary
Pension Insurance Corp. announced on Tuesday that it had completed an annuity buy-in with the C. & J. Clark Pension Fund, the defined benefit plan of U.K.-based shoe retailer C. & J. Clark International Ltd. The buy-in covers 540 million pounds ($676.93 million) of plan liabilities for a total of 8,000 members. It is PIC's second transaction with Clarks; the two parties completed a 280 million pound buy-in in 2022. The latest deal insures all of the plan's remaining liabilities, which totaled 820 million pounds.
In a statement, Clarks chief financial officer Philip Yau said the company was pleased to achieve its long-standing ambition to fully buy in the C&J Clark Pension Fund. He said the step fully secures members' benefits while eliminating pension-related balance sheet volatility.
The announcement is one of the first pension risk transfers of 2025, following a year of record U.K. PRT volume. According to Legal & General Retirement America (LGRA), 20 billion pounds of buy-in and buyout transactions were recorded in the first half of 2024, and the U.K. market could have reached 40 billion pounds for the full year, though final data were not yet available.
Pension consultant Lane Clark & Peacock estimates the U.K. market could see between 40 billion and 50 billion pounds of annuity buy-in volume in 2025, which would be the third consecutive year of such volume. The firm also expects more than 300 transactions in 2025, which would be the most in a single year.
In a statement, Clarks chief financial officer Philip Yau said the company was pleased to achieve its long-standing ambition to fully buy in the C&J Clark Pension Fund. He said the step fully secures members' benefits while eliminating pension-related balance sheet volatility.
The announcement is one of the first pension risk transfers of 2025, following a year of record U.K. PRT volume. According to Legal & General Retirement America (LGRA), 20 billion pounds of buy-in and buyout transactions were recorded in the first half of 2024, and the U.K. market could have reached 40 billion pounds for the full year, though final data were not yet available.
Pension consultant Lane Clark & Peacock estimates the U.K. market could see between 40 billion and 50 billion pounds of annuity buy-in volume in 2025, which would be the third consecutive year of such volume. The firm also expects more than 300 transactions in 2025, which would be the most in a single year.
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