Reuters, an international news organisation owned by Thomson Reuters, has announced that it has agreed to a £310 million full-scheme buy-in transaction for its supplementary pension scheme.
The transaction was the agency’s first with financial services company Legal and General Assurance Society, otherwise known as Legal and General, and involved the assessment and insurance of a “complex multi-currency benefit structure”. It will provide benefit payments to the trustee of the scheme, offering long-term security to all pension members, which includes around 2,500 journalists and 600 photo-journalists in about 200 locations located across the world.
The scheme is sponsored by Refinitiv, a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), and the trustee was advised on the transaction by Aon, with legal advice provided by law organisation Sacker and Partners. The sponsor was advised by pensions adviser LCP and lawyers at CMS, and legal advice was provided to Legal and General by law firm Slaughter and May.
Greg Meekings, chair of the trustee, explained that as a result of the trustee and company managing the scheme to a favourable financial position, the transaction has provided members with even greater security.
“Having worked with Aon to develop a strategy, we were able to work collaboratively with Legal and General to execute a buy-in covering all members of the scheme. I would also like to acknowledge the positive support from LSEG,” he said.
Ava Lau, head of reward analytics at LSEG, added that the team is pleased to have now reached a major milestone with the Reuters supplementary pension scheme following LSEG’s acquisition of Refinitiv in January 2021.
“This buy-in transaction is a testament to the collaborative efforts between the trustee, LSEG and their advisers, which also takes the group and the scheme further along in their long-term pension strategy,” she said.