Canada Life has wrapped up its third pension scheme buy-in with drinks manufacturer A.G. Barr p.l.c., locking in £41 mn and securing future benefits for 300 members of the company’s defined benefit scheme.
The agreement covers 160 deferred members and 140 pensioners under the A.G. Barr (2008) Pension and Life Assurance Scheme.
It’s the final step in a de-risking programme that began almost a decade ago. Earlier buy-ins completed in 2016 and 2018 already secured around 40% of the scheme’s liabilities.
The Trustee board worked again with Hymans Robertson, which handled brokerage, actuarial and administration duties, alongside its role as de-risking adviser.
Legal guidance came from Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP, while Canada Life used its in-house legal team.
Shreyas Sridhar, Managing Director for Bulk Purchase Annuities at Canada Life, said the partnership built over several years helped deliver a strong outcome.
We’re proud the Trustee chose to work exclusively with Canada Life for this final transaction.
“Our team has spent years understanding how the scheme operates and bottled that knowledge into a smooth process.”
Sridhar added that the Trustee board had been closely tracking market conditions with Canada Life to move quickly when pricing aligned. “The trust and collaboration across all parties meant we could deliver an outstanding result for members,” he said.
Hymans Robertson’s risk transfer specialist and lead adviser, Mahad Farooqui, called the buy-in “a significant milestone” for the scheme’s journey toward full security of benefits.
Working with the same insurer across all three transactions brought efficiency and confidence
Amanda Switzer, Partner at Hymans and the scheme’s actuary, added that seeing the scheme’s funding strengthen year after year has been rewarding.
“Securing this third and final buy-in marks an incredible milestone,” she said. “It’s a great outcome for the Trustee, for Canada Life, and most importantly, for the members whose benefits are now fully protected.”
A.G. Barr, known for brands like IRN-BRU, Rubicon, FUNKIN and Boost, now completes a long-term pension de-risking effort that began over a decade ago – a move that reflects the broader trend of UK corporates closing funding gaps while market conditions remain favourable.
