Electronics giant Siemens has moved its £1.6bn pension scheme to Standard Life, the largest own trust to master transfer transfer to date, based on value of assets.
As a result of this transfer being completed, 30,000 active and deferred members of Siemens Investor Plan have moved into Standard Life’s master trust, following a period of consultation with members.
Siemens’ DC advisers Isio were part of a joint working group advising on this switch, that also included scheme trustees and Siemens representatives. This working group selected Standard Life as part of a wider provider selection exercise.
This transfer comes at the end of a buoyant year for Standard Life, driven by particularly strong growth in its workplace pensions business. Earlier this year it reported that workplace net fund flows stood at £4.5bn for 2023 — nearly double the £2bn of new scheme assets that were transferred the year before. This figure includes the Siemens scheme.
Standard Life director for workplace Gail Izat says: “To be selected by Siemens as master trust provider for one of the biggest pension schemes in the market marks a significant milestone for our business and reflects the significant progress we’ve made in recent years to deliver a leading workplace proposition.
“We have been steadily developing our capability, investing in our proposition, our fund selection and digital capability to engage members.”
She adds: “We have worked in close partnership with the Siemens team to facilitate the transition to our master trust and we look forward to helping members in the years ahead achieve greater certainty as they continue to save for their futures.”
Siemens EMEA benefits lead Jo Udall adds: “In moving to a master trust arrangement, we were looking not only for a company that could handle a transaction of this size but that would become a partner in managing the pension arrangements for our 30,000 members.”
Standard Life says it anticipates further growth in its workplace pensions business, with a further £3bn of new scheme assets are due to transfer to the workplace business over the next two years. It adds that it is also quoting on a significant pipeline of new schemes looking to transfer into a master trust arrangement.