2024 PRT market update
2024 summary
In 2024, the UK Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) market experienced another strong year with a record number of buy-in and buyout transactions completed across the market. We anticipate industry-wide new business volumes to have reached £45-50 billion, nearing the record volume of £49.1 billion set in 2023.
Many DB schemes have reached or are approaching full funding, creating strong demand from pension schemes of all sizes. In particular, smaller schemes are driving a significant increase in overall transaction numbers each year. Insurers are responding by developing innovative solutions to meet this demand. This includes “L&G Flow”, our tailored solution designed to support smaller schemes from the pricing stage through to buy-in and then moving to buyout.
In recent months the Government has proposed revisions to refund of surplus rules for DB pensions. We believe that buyout remains the preferred option for most trustees and corporate sponsors, and in most cases, it remains a question of ‘when’ a pension scheme will buy out rather than ‘if’. However, this increased flexibility will provide even more options for trustees and corporate sponsors as they consider their journeys to endgame whether their objective is buyout, run-on or a combination of both.
Our new business volumes
We completed 38 transactions in the UK totalling £8.4 billion, 15 in the US totalling $2.2 billion, and 3 reinsurance transactions totalling CAD$1 billion in Canada.
As stated in our Investor Deep Dive event in December, our ambition is to write £50-65 billion of UK PRT over the five-year period ending in 2028. A breakdown of our 2024 UK transactions can be found below.
PRT market trends 2025
In this episode of The PRT Pod, Dom Moret and Rachel Cutts reflect on our predictions last year and share their thoughts on what's in store for the PRT market in 2025.
UK bulk annuity sales 2024 | <£100m | £100m-£500m | £500m+ |
|---|---|---|---|
Total size (£m) | 726 | 735 | 6,952 |
Average size of quote (£m) | 26 | 245 | 993 |
Number of transactions | 28 | 3 | 7 |
Customer service
We pride ourselves on the excellent customer care that we provide through our award-winning in-house teams in Cardiff, Hove and our newly-opened Glasgow office.
Expanding to Glasgow
Following our final transaction with the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) last year, we’re thrilled to have taken on its pensions office in Glasgow and welcome 17 new colleagues to L&G.
The Glasgow team further strengthens our administration, customer service and technology expertise, and will help us continue to deliver a first-class service to customers and clients.
Customer events
In 2024, we held two customer roadshows in Bedfordshire and Cardiff, and welcomed more than 3,000 customers to our dedicated customer lounge at BBC Gardeners’ World Live in Birmingham.
These events allow us to build meaningful personal connections and provide customers with a relaxed and enjoyable setting to share their experiences.
Customer Contact Association Global Excellence Awards
In April, we won five prestigious awards at the CCA Global Excellence Awards, including Team of the Year for Back Office – Payroll Services and the Sensitive Claims Team. We’ve been shortlisted for a further five categories at this year’s award ceremony in April. Since 2021, we have won a total of 14 CCA awards.
European Contact Centre & Customer Service Awards
In November we won silver for Best Customer Service Team at the ECCCSAs, the longest running and largest awards programme in the European customer contact industry. We were also shortlisted for Best Supporting Team and Best Approach to Supporting Vulnerable Customers. This award is another major accolade and represents international recognition for our service team.
Innovation
L&G Flow
We recently relaunched “L&G Flow”, our solution designed specifically for smaller pension schemes.
Flow is focussed on supporting schemes all the way to buyout, providing immediately transactable pricing with price locks, flexible premium payment options, and personalised post-transaction support from our award-winning Client Service team. We completed 20 transactions through L&G Flow in 2024, cumulatively securing around £450 million of member benefits.
Illiquid asset solutions
Flexible solutions to help manage illiquid assets, tailored to every scheme.
Leveraging the breadth of expertise across the L&G Group, we provide bespoke solutions for schemes by seamlessly integrating our asset management and insurance capabilities.
Endgame Insights
Our ‘Endgame’ thought leadership series was Highly Commended at the Pensions Age Awards in March.
Read our inaugural report, Endgame Insights for the latest market dynamics.
Investing for the long-term
Accounting4Sustainability (A4S)
We are proud to be a founding signatory of the Sustainability Principles Charter for the bulk annuity process launched by A4S.
The charter aims to drive sustainable practices within the PRT industry. In the accompanying video Group Climate Director, Carl Moxley and Sustainable Investing Lead, Matyas Horak, discuss the benefits of the Charter and the new Bulk Annuity Sustainability Survey, which provides a central platform to identify and address areas for improvement in reporting.
Investment highlights
Our synergistic business model enables us to invest productively at scale, contributing to future economic growth.
L&G’s regenerative housing investments won Insurance Asset Risk's 2025 Investment Innovation of the Year award. L&G also won Social Investing Initiative of the Year for our transformational impact on affordable housing in the UK, combining institutional investment expertise with a commitment to social good. You can find out more about a selection of our UK investments by watching the video opposite.
Recent announcements
Legal & General completes £505 million buy-in with the Inchcape Motors Pension Scheme
Legal & General completes £370 million buy-in with the TUI Group UK Pension Trust
Legal & General completes £1.4 billion buy-in with the Sanofi Pension Scheme
Legal & General completes £34 million buy-in with Walkers Shortbread Limited Retirement Benefits Scheme
Legal & General completes £1.1 billion full buy-in with Deutsche Bank Pension Scheme
Legal & General completes £1.1 billion buy-in with the SCA UK Pension Plan
Legal & General completes £21 million buy-in with The Leprosy Mission Central Pension Scheme
Legal & General completes third and final buyout with the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan
Legal & General agrees £900 million buy-in with the ICI Pension Fund
Legal & General £16 million buy-in with John Graham (Dromore) Limited Pension and Life Assurance Scheme
Legal & General agrees £4.8 billion full buy-in for the Boots Pension Scheme
Legal & General completes £500m buy-in with Deutsche Bank Pension Scheme
Legal & General agrees c.£340m buy-in with the Cable and Wireless Superannuation Fund
Get in touch
Reach out for more information about our products and services
Trustees & Advisers
Email our de-risking inbox for more information about our products and services
Media / Journalists
For press and media enquires please email our inbox
Careers
Find the latest vacancies on our careers site