Defined Benefit Pension Solutions

De-risking solutions for defined benefit pension plans

A matter of certainty

Aviva's pension de-risking solutions give scheme trustees the ability to look ahead with confidence.

We have the experience and specialist expertise to reduce or fully remove your liability. Through our buy-in or buy-out solutions, we offer protection against risks including investment underperformance, longevity, interest rate changes and inflation.

The de-risking solutions we offer:

Buy-in

  • Designed to help trustees and sponsoring employers provide long-term security, for some or all scheme members. 
  • Gives protection from investment, inflation and longevity risks. We make regular payments into the plan to help meet monthly pensioner payroll requirements. 
  • The relationship between your pension plan and its members stays the same. The plan continues to pay the benefits, with Aviva remaining in the background with no direct relationship with members.

Buy-out

  • The solution for trustees looking to fully and permanently settle their pension liabilities. 
  • Aviva takes on responsibility for all known liabilities, removing the associated risks from the trustees and sponsoring employer. 
  • Scheme members are issued individual Aviva policies, and we take responsibility for pensioner payroll and member administration. Where a full scheme buy-out takes place, the trustees can usually wind up the pension scheme.

Why choose Aviva?

Aviva has the expertise and full range of capabilities to support your de-risking ambitions, bringing confidence and certainty for you and your members.

Our ability to remove risk rests on four pillars: 

  • Capability

    • A highly experienced counterparty – approaching 20 years in the BPA market

    • Over 750 BPA transactions completed

    • Aviva services over 1.3m UK annuities and pays around £3.4bn of annuity benefits every year

  • Reliability

    • We understand your objectives, obligations and risks to create streamlined or fully bespoke solutions

    • Robust and efficient processes to support a smooth end-to-end journey

    • Expert support for you and your members from our in-house UK teams

  • Stability

    • A Solvency II Coverage Ratio around double the regulatory requirement

    • Insurer Financial Strength ratings in the AA range

    • A meticulous approach to sourcing assets which match cashflows for years to come

  • Sustainability

    • We work closely with Aviva’s global asset management business, Aviva Investors, who’ve been ranked 3rd out of a sample of 77 of the world’s largest asset managers assessed by ShareAction across responsible investment themes (ShareAction, Point of No Returns 2023)

    • Over £17.5bn invested in UK social infrastructure over the last 25 years (Aviva UK Life, Dec 2023)

    • Financing initiatives for cleaner transport and renewable energy through financing £400m towards a new fleet of trains for East Midlands Railway, and £400m towards the construction of the Hornsea One offshore windfarm.

Our Sustainable approach to investing for the long-term

Find out how Aviva's investment strategy not only aims to protect members' pensions long into the future, but also how it supports our sustainability ambition by acting on climate change and helping build stronger communities.

Meet our defined benefit experts

Our defined benefit specialists have years of experience in designing and crafting solutions for a wide range of pension plans.

Aviva clarity

Watch our video and read our brochure to find out about our streamlined de-risking solution for smaller schemes.

What to do next

Trustees or advisers looking to de-risk a defined benefit pension scheme should contact an Employee Benefit Consultant to ensure their scheme is prepared and in a position to approach the market.