Standard Life has appointed DB pension administrator Equiniti to help its grow its bulk purchase annuity (BPA) business.
Equiniti will provide full administration of both buy-in and buy-out BPA policies, designed to meet the needs of both customers and trustees in this specialist area.
It will deliver a self-service portal, using Standard Life branding that will ensure customers benefit from greater flexibility in how they engage with their pension.
Customers will be able to access features such as a retirement modeller allowing real-time modelling of retirement options (including retirement dates and tax-free cash options), instant indicative transfer values, and access to a wide range of information to help understand their policy and make decisions on their retirement journey.
To promote sustainability, customers will have a paperless option, but will also be able to access a fully staffed telephone helpline. The service is in the process of being implemented and will be incrementally rolled-out for use across 2023.
This partnership reflects the continued growth of Standard Life’s bulk purchase annuity business and anticipated demand in the coming years as trustees increasingly look to de-risk their schemes.
Standard Life, head of client services, annuities Mark Fenlon says: “The Standard Life BPA business has grown significantly over the last year. This partnership will support our growth plans and reflects the potential in this expanding market – with another strong year of volumes expected in 2022.
“With Equiniti’s market leading technology and substantial experience in the defined benefit administration market, we are confident that our partnership will help us provide a customer-centric proposition that meets the needs of trustees, as well as ensuring good outcomes for customers who are at the heart of the service.”
Duncan Watson, CEO, EQ Paymaster adds: “Technological expertise has long underpinned our pension administration services, and we are delighted to be helping Standard Life transform its digital estate to benefit its customers.
“EQ Paymaster are ideally placed to manage complex and regulated UK administered pension schemes, payments, payroll and reporting and we look forward to assisting Standard Life in achieving their BPA strategic objectives in this ever-changing market.’’