Smart Pension has acquired Welplan Pensions Master Trust.
Welplan currently provides pensions for around 1,800 employers and has 55,000 individual members in its master trusts, with aggregate funds of around £200m. However last year it decided not to seek authorisation, and the trust closed.
Following a review by trustees, existing employers and members will now be transferred into Smart Pension.
This is the latest – and largest – acquisition for Smart Pension, following the transfer of more than 20,000 members from the £20m Corpad Master Trust, and 6,500 members from the £12.5m Lighthouse sponsored Corporate Pensions Trust in 2019.
Welplan Pensions chair of trustees Dianne Day says: “Our priority has been finding the right default receiving scheme for scheme members.”
She said that they trustees were impressed with Smart Pensions approach to technology and its emphasis on strong trustee governance and value for money.
She adds: “The Pensions Regulator has approved this implementation strategy and we will continue to work very closely with the team at Smart to make the transition as seamless as possible for our employers and members.”
Welplan Pensions has now written to all employers to inform them of the move. The transition of future contributions is now expected in the next few months and the transfer of assets is planned to take place later in the year.
Andrew Evans, CEO and co-founder of Smart (pictured above) said: “We are delighted that the trustee has chosen Smart Pension to take on the members and employers of the Welplan Master Trust.
“We are impressed with Welplan’s approach to excellence in client service and care, which we will continue going forward. This is great news all round, particularly for the members and employers who will have access to our world-class technology.”