The Hille Ergonom Pension Scheme has completed wind-up, following a £4m buy-out with Aviva, securing the benefits of 56 pensioners and 18 deferred members, who have also benefitted from surplus assets.
Payouts were in the region of £1,000 before tax per member.
First Actuarial (part of Gallagher) acted as risk transfer consultant and project manager. Capital Cranfield was the professional sole trustee, represented by Anthea Whitton and Wai Wong, and Walker Morris (Ruth Bamforth) provided legal support.
Chloe Davies, risk transfer consultant at First Actuarial, says: “As scheme funding improved, the sponsor started to consider buy-out of its well-funded legacy scheme, aiming to de-risk its balance sheet. This was supported by the sponsor’s parent company, who remained involved and engaged throughout the entire process.”
First Actuarial led the initial buy-in, and finalising the transaction resulted in a refund from Aviva. Capital Cranfield negotiated with the sponsor, obtaining agreement for expenses to be reimbursed and for some surplus to be distributed to members. This allowed First Acturial to provide one-off payments to members just before Christmas 2025.
