CF Fertilisers’ pension schemes have completed two full buy-ins in a combined £265m transaction.  

The buy-ins with M&G cover the pension benefits of more than 1,350 pensioners and deferred members from the Kemira Growhow UK Ltd Pension Fund and the Terra Nitrogen (UK) Ltd Pension Scheme. The transaction was executed by M&G subsidiary the Prudential Assurance Company.   

CF Fertilisers UK is a subsidiary of CF Industries, a US-headquartered manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for clean energy.  

Trustee chair Susan Anyan from Capital Cranfield Trustees, said: “We are delighted that a strong partnership between the trustee and the company has allowed us to significantly accelerate our shared ambition to future-proof members’ benefits. A high degree of collaboration across a strong multidisciplinary team enabled us to navigate a complex process to achieve this very positive outcome.”

Rosie Fantom, head of bulk annuity origination and execution at M&G, added: “We worked closely with the trustee, the company and their advisers at every stage of the process to understand how we could tailor our proposition to deliver an optimal member experience for both schemes and deliver on the needs of all beneficiaries.”

Jo Carter, lead adviser at XPS Group said the complexity of the schemes’ benefits required an approach combining risk settlement, actuarial and administration specialists, adding: “This meant we could leverage strong insurer competition and achieve a great outcome for the trustee, the company and most importantly the members.”

Burges Salmon gave legal advice to the trustees, while PwC was the covenant adviser and Mercer the investment adviser. EY and Eversheds Sutherland advised the company and CMS provided legal advice to M&G.

M&G said it has written about £2bn of new business since re-entering the bulk annuity market in 2023.