BESTrustees scheme rescued from PPF in £6m buy-out

BESTrustees client, the Broadcasting Support Services Pension Scheme, has completed a £6m buy-out, securing the benefits for 59 members with Aviva.

In almost a decade since the employer went into liquidation, the Scheme entered PPF (Pension Protection Fund) assessment – coming out of it when the Scheme’s assets were found to be more than sufficient to secure PPF-level benefits – and a successful buy-out has now taken place.

Once the Scheme came out of PPF assessment, BESTrustees and Scheme Actuary First Actuarial drew together all the available assets to secure member benefits in a buy-in with Aviva. They then prepared the Scheme for buy-out and used a payment from the insolvency practitioner to secure additional member benefits over and above the PPF entitlement.

“This is a great result for the Scheme members and shows what can be achieved for smaller schemes when working closely with advisers committed to doing what is in members’ best interests.  Having two dedicated member trustees remain on the Board contributed significantly to the member engagement process.”

Ann Rigby, BESTrustees and Chair of Trustees

“When the problems of the sponsoring employer became apparent to us and BESTrustees, we took action to de-risk the investments. That turned out to be the first step in protecting members’ benefits. This positive outcome for members was partly due to our close working relationship with BESTrustees throughout this protracted period. We had regular review meetings with Aviva, who were also great to work with – we all appreciated their pragmatic approach.”

Keith Williams, Partner at First Actuarial