Ex-BHS staff to receive pension payouts

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has completed a full pension insurance buyout of the BHS2 Pension Scheme.

This buyout will cover £800m of the defunct retailer’s liabilities and all of the approximately 9,000 members of the BHS2 Scheme.

The pension obligations of the BHS2 Scheme are now fully insured and secured with PIC, meaning members are now guaranteed to receive their BHS2 Scheme benefits. Those members who chose to enter the scheme will have their pensions secured in full and they will become PIC policyholders.

The BHS2 Scheme is a new pension scheme set up in 2017 following the collapse of BHS, and the subsequent cash injection by Sir Philip Green.

It covers the employees who were members of the two predecessor BHS Pension Schemes and chose to transfer to the BHS2 Pension Scheme under the terms offered. It does not include members who chose to transfer into the Pension Protection Fund, or some eligible members with small pensions who chose to take a lump sum in lieu of their pension.

Chris Martin, of Independent Trustee Services Limited, said: “It has always been our goal to deliver the best possible outcome for the members of this scheme. A buyout guarantees member benefits under the BHS2 Scheme, and is the most secure solution for the members of this scheme. I am delighted that we have been able to accomplish this transaction far earlier than expected.

“I want to thank our advisers, Barnett Waddingham, Eversheds Sutherland and Willis Towers Watson, for their help through this whole process. I also want to thank PIC for its flexibility and innovation in the transaction.”

Uzma Nazir, head of origination structuring at PIC, added: “We are proud to have been able to secure members’ benefits via an insured annuity. This brings certainty that the members will receive the benefits they opted for when choosing to join the new scheme.

“The Trustees have done an excellent job of managing the assets and liabilities in the newly formed BHS2 Scheme, and through a collaborative effort between PIC and their advisers, have been able to insure member benefits much earlier than expected.”