The Pension and Life Assurance Plan of Godolphin Company Limited, sponsored by St Aubyn Estates, has secured a £1.2m ‘micro’ buy-in with Just Group using Isio’s PenUltimate Micro framework.

The transaction was completed on 13 February and secured the benefits of eight deferred members.

It marked the first deal completed under Isio’s PenUltimate Micro framework, a service designed to support schemes with fewer than 100 members get to buy-in, then buyout and fully wound up within two years.

Isio said that, following its appointment, it reviewed the scheme’s position and applied the PenUltimate Micro approach to data cleansing and preparation for buy-in, GMP equalisation, buyout, and wind-up.

The scheme’s administration, actuarial, and investment services were transitioned to Isio and assets were de-risked, allowing the scheme to move to buy-in within seven months, with the scheme expecting a surplus at wind-up.

Legal advice was provided to the scheme by Burges Salmon, while Lindis Consulting advised the sponsor.

“Our small scheme had been facing increasing regulatory pressures and rising costs, with limited options to move forward,” said St Aubyn Estates CEO, Felix St Aubyn.

“Isio brought clarity, professionalism, and a clear plan of action. Within seven months, we had successfully changed pension scheme administrators and completed a buy-in, significantly improving both service and security for our members.”

Just Group business development manager, Alma Goyanes-Payne, commented: “The smallest of schemes can still struggle to get engagement in the market, resulting in disproportionate fees and a lengthy data cleanse process despite low member numbers.

“Beacon enables us to price multiple small schemes within a short window for maximum efficiency ahead of signing, and we’ve developed a micro scheme specific process to ensure small schemes like this get to buy-out very efficiently.”

Isio risk transfer specialist, Christian Costi, added: “Completing our first PenUltimate Micro transaction demonstrates how smaller schemes can access a structured and efficient route to risk settlement.

“Securing long-term security for members was at the heart of this process and, through focused preparation and early market engagement, we were able to help the trustees move from a legacy policy arrangement to a completed buy-in within a relatively short timeframe.”

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