Bulk annuity market October 2025 update

Bulk annuity market October 2025 update

29 Oct 2025

The market continues to be buoyant and on track for a record number of transactions for 2025.

Despite this, volumes are expected to be 10-20% lower than recent years due to fewer multi-billion pound transactions in the market, which have created continued opportunities for small to mid-sized schemes.

We provide commentary on TPT’s entry to the superfund market and Brookfield’s acquisition of Just.

Download our XPS Risk Settlement Watch here

---

Market commentary

• H1 results have been released by insurers and show volumes in the market have been lower than expected at £9.7bn, although momentum continues at the small and mid-end of the market with 161 transactions written.
• This is leading to continued opportunities for small to mid-sized schemes as more insurers seek to utilise capacity with XPS experiencing an increase in the average number of bidders on transactions in the market throughout the year.
• The increased competition has continued during H2 and, as always, the year is back-end loaded for completed deals. XPS expects another record year for the number of deals written, with around 350 deals expected over the whole year. However, overall volumes are estimated to be 10%-20% lower than recent years at around £40Bn - £45Bn.
• Notable deals in the last quarter in the public domain included:

Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund	£4.3bn	PIC
Sedgwick Section of the MMC UK Pension Fund	£1.9bn	Standard Life
BP Pension Fund	£1.6bn	L&G

The XPS Bulk Annuity Watch tracker tracks the bulk annuity transactions completed by each provider, by number of deals and volume of premium.

Market volatility

Global equities have delivered strong returns from their lows at the start of April - up nearly 11% YTD in GBP terms. Over Q3, an increase in gilt yields will have reduced the value placed on scheme liabilities. Post month end, at the time of writing, gilt yields have moved significantly lower. Investment-grade credit spreads continued to narrow over Q3, resulting in relative outperformance versus gilts.

Industry news

• Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BWS) has agreed a deal to acquire Just Group (Just). BWS had recently established a UK subsidiary, Blumont UK Annuity Limited, as it sought to establish itself in the UK bulk annuity market. Following its planned acquisition of Just, BWS will seek to merge the Blumont business into Just’s bulk annuity business (Just Retirement Limited - JRL) and write business through the JRL brand. JRL and Blumont will continue to operate independently in the bulk annuity market until the merger is finalised (expected H1, 2026).
• TPT has launched a new consolidation vehicle which aims to be the UK’s first TPR assessed superfund designed to run on and with potential for members to share in surplus. As a run-on vehicle, TPT’s proposition will be markedly different from the only other TPR assessed superfund, Clara, which acts as a bridge to buyout.

Find out more

For further information, please get in touch with Stephen Purves, Adrian Marshall or speak to your usual XPS Group contact.