Hymans Robertson confirms that total pension scheme buy-in and buy-out volumes totalled £27.7bn in 2021 as it publishes it Half Year Risk Transfer Report.

James Mullins, Head of Risk Transfer at Hymans Robertson, comments:

“The impact of the pandemic continued to influence in early 2021, however increased innovation in the longevity hedging space, led to a busy second half of the year with total transactions at the second highest ever level for a six-month period. With many of the insurers having been behind target by mid-2021, this created particularly strong competition toward the second half of the year. 

“The rapid growth in demand for pension schemes to insure their risks, along with improved pension scheme funding levels, attractive insurer pricing and new alternative risk transfer options, means that we expect around £50bn a year of buy-ins and buy-outs on average over the next 10 years, in addition to longevity swaps. That means that, by the end of 2031, £1 trillion of pension scheme liabilities will have been insured, covering 5 million members’ benefits."

A copy of Hymans Robertson’s latest report on the activity in the risk transfer market can be accessed here for more detail about developments in the bulk annuity market.