We use our clear and simple ‘DB Navigator’ framework to help our clients decide on their destination and set their long-term journey plan.

Using this framework, our consultants will ensure you have a holistic strategy that adapts to changing circumstances, and with integrated risk management at its heart.

The framework is also there to ensure the practical work required is done at the right time. 

Having all parties bought into the same well-structured plan allows you to take decisive action, and quickly capture opportunities to de-risk or transact. 

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We make sure you are properly prepared for any potential insurance transaction.

We are very proud that we have successfully completed every transaction we have taken to market since 2020. This means we get the best engagement, price and terms from insurers, as they have confidence that a transaction we bring has been well-planned, and will go smoothly from their point of view. This is increasingly important when market demand outstrips insurers’ capacity.

We have experience of delivering for all schemes, from small to large (click here for a case study for one of our large clients). We know the importance of having a successful, smooth route to scheme wind-up, and carefully plan for this from the earliest stages of a buy-out project.

A key problem for many schemes is getting the attention of their advisors to do the project work that can be required on their endgame journey – from preparing for buy-in, to completing GMP projects and finalising the wind-up.

We are proactive, and have the technology and resources available to get both the strategic and practical work done quickly and efficiently.

As testament to this, we are one of a small number of firms the PPF trusts to take on the actuarial, administration and risk transfer work of schemes going through PPF assessment and potential transactions outside the PPF.

We have also worked on over 250 wind-up cases, ranging in size from under £1m to over £1bn.

DB Navigator

Approach your endgame with confidence

Our first stage is to help you define where you are going, when you want to get there by and how much risk you are willing to take that your journey goes off course. Knowing whether you are looking to get to buyout within a set time, or plan to run on indefinitely, is critical in determining your whole strategy.

We focus on helping trustees and scheme sponsors identify the most appropriate goal for their unique circumstances, and ensuring all parties are joined-up in trying to achieve that goal.

Once you know your goal, you need to make sure you have the best strategy to get there. This includes the investment strategy, de-risking plan, funding strategy, approach to member options and anything else that may impact the financial future of the scheme.

Our philosophy is to bring everything back to the central question – is this strategy the best one to help the trustees and sponsor achieve their ultimate goal? This philosophy helps focus time and expense on the most important issues facing trustees and sponsors, and makes sure the decisions taken are in their long-term interests and those of the members.

 

Of course, there will always be a degree of uncertainty on your DB endgame journey. So it’s important to effectively monitor progress and have accurate and timely information, enabling you to confidently address threats and seize opportunities when they arise.

We focus on helping our clients think through the potential ‘what-ifs’ in advance, so you are prepared to take decisive action. We also use our Illuminate system to give our clients the most up-to-date information available on the scheme’s finances and their progress towards endgame.

If you are targeting a transaction (insurer or other consolidator) you will need to go through an exercise to get your scheme ‘transaction ready’. A key part of our approach is to map out these actions early – so you know what tasks are needed, when to start them, and how these fit in with the strategic plan timings.

Our experience tells us the key to success is having your actuarial and administration services work very closely together to establish a joined-up plan to get over the practical hurdles.

Many trustees and sponsors are targeting an eventual transaction and wind-up – but how much thought have you given to how that buyout and wind-up will be executed, and how those steps interact?

Our actuarial, admin and risk transfer consultants, alongside our wind-up team, work closely together when designing the plan and executing the transaction. This makes sure the transaction works as intended, and everything is aligned so that we can then go forward with an effective wind-up of the scheme, ensuring good outcomes for all members.

ILLUMINATE YOUR JOURNEY

DB Navigator® is brought to life by Illuminate – our specialist tool designed to guide you through the financial management of your DB scheme. It will help answer key questions, such as when you can expect to reach your endgame and what actions you can take to speed up your journey or reduce risk. Through a customisable monitoring dashboard it will also help you capture opportunities and warn you of impending problems.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ILLUMINATE >

OUR LATEST DB RESEARCH

As you embark on your endgame journey, our research will give you a deeper insight into the issues relevant to your scheme and will allow you to benchmark your progress against others. This can help you in planning your own endgame strategy.




Three digital tablets display colorful charts and illustrations. The first features mountains and text about sectors; the second shows calm waters; the third highlights market challenges amidst green landscapes. READ OUR LATEST RESEARCH HERE >

Read our guide to journey planning

Our framework is designed to help you think strategically about your DB pension endgame. It’s about choosing where you want to go, rather than simply 'going with the flow.'

This guide answers five core questions from different advisory perspectives to illustrate how each stage of a DB pension scheme needs to be efficiently co-ordinated.

DB Navigator keeps you on a steadily moving course to achieve the desired outcome for your pension scheme endgame.

DB Navigator: the framework

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Post-transaction and wind-up

We provide comprehensive end-to-end support to guide your pension scheme through the crucial post-buy-in activities and ensure an efficient scheme wind-up. 

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Run-on

BW SAVE is our brand-new solution for Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes, most suitable for schemes from £100m upwards and particularly attractive for those over £300m.

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DB End Gauge: benchmark your scheme's endgame

Our unique monthly index provides an estimate of the average time for UK pension schemes to reach a sufficient level of funding to buyout their liabilities with an insurance company. 

DB End Gauge is calculated using publicly available data collected from the annual accounts of the FTSE 350 companies. As such, it covers around 160 companies with DB pension arrangements and is calculated as the average of the estimated time to reach buyout funding for each scheme. 

See the latest index

To learn more about how you can approach your endgame journey with confidence, contact one of our team today.  

“No matter how you picture the finer details of your DB endgame journey, our approach will always be to ensure the best possible outcome for all of the scheme’s stakeholders.”

IAN MILLS BSc FIA
Partner, Head of DB Endgame Strategy

“We’ll make your scheme’s journey straightforward with risks controlled and your decision making supported by clear, comprehensive advice.”
 

CHRIS RAMSEY FIA
Partner, Head of DB Endgame Consulting

“We help sponsors and trustees set an appropriate DB endgame strategy that strikes the right balance between their level of asset de-risking and employer contributions.”

SIMON TAYLOR FIA
Partner, Head of Employer DB Consulting