Standard Life has secured £2bn of capital backing to expand its bulk annuity business through a partnership with several major financial services groups, including CVC Capital Partners and Prudential Financial. The company announced a strategic partnership with these groups, as well as Goldman Sachs and Japanese insurance company MS&AD Insurance Group, to significantly expand its capacity to take on new bulk annuity business.
The consortium, which includes other unnamed institutional investors, is designed to support Standard Life’s growth in the bulk annuity market, particularly for larger and more complex schemes. Standard Life’s biggest bulk annuity transaction to date was a £1.9bn deal to insure the Sedgwick section of Marsh’s UK defined benefit pension scheme, announced in August 2025.
Standard Life is investing £500m in the arrangement, while CVC, Prudential Financial, and Goldman Sachs will provide asset origination services in private markets. This partnership is expected to improve Standard Life’s pricing and flexibility for large bulk annuities. The consortium will operate under a stand-alone brand, Standard Life PRT Solutions, subject to regulatory approval.
Nuwan Goonetilleke, interim CEO for Standard Life’s retirement solutions and asset management business, has been named chief executive officer of the new consortium. Nuwan Goonetilleke stated that the partnership will continue to secure high-quality outcomes for members, while supporting trustees in executing complex de-risking transactions with confidence.
The partnership is expected to influence the derisking space, particularly for defined benefit schemes at the upper end of the market. Standard Life believes that these schemes will drive a growing share of the market, despite a recent spike in small scheme transactions. By combining its expertise with access to a diversified set of private markets originators, the company aims to offer competitive pricing and innovative structuring for trustees.
CVC previously invested in Pension Insurance Corporation, before it was bought by European insurance giant Athora last year. Peter Rutland, president of CVC, said the arrangement with Standard Life was ideally suited to CVC’s insurance asset management franchise and credit origination capabilities.
In practice, this development means that pension scheme members can expect more secure and stable pensions, as the partnership will enable Standard Life to take on larger and more complex bulk annuity deals. The company’s expanded capacity will also provide trustees with more options for de-risking transactions, allowing them to make more informed decisions about the future of their schemes.
The partnership between Standard Life and its consortium partners is subject to regulatory approval. Once approved, the stand-alone brand, Standard Life PRT Solutions, will begin operating, providing an alternative for trustees and sponsors of large pension schemes to secure the pensions of their members across the UK. They will offer a range of services to support this goal.
It will provide a new option for pension schemes.
Standard Life’s expansion into the bulk annuity market is a significant development.
The company’s growth in this area is expected to continue.
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