Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has appointed Equiniti, a market leader in defined benefit pension administration and software services in the UK, to carry out administration of both buy-in and buy-out BPA (bulk purchase annuity) policies.
Equiniti will provide a full administration offer designed to meet the needs of both customers and trustees in this specialist area. Through this partnership, Equiniti will deliver a self-service portal that places customer experience at the heart of the proposition. The portal, which will use Standard Life branding, will ensure customers benefit from greater flexibility in how they engage with their pension.
Customers will be able to digitally access features such as a retirement modeller allowing real-time modelling of retirement options (including retirement dates and tax-free cash options), instant indicative transfer value and access to a wide range of information to help understand their policy and make important decisions on their retirement journey. To promote sustainability, customers will have the option to go paperless and view all documents within the portal but a fully staffed telephone option will also be available.
The complete service provided by Equiniti will focus on ensuring quick turnaround times to provide customers and trustees with information relating to their policy when they need it. The service is in the process of being implemented and will be incrementally rolled-out for use across 2023.
This partnership reflects the continued growth of Standard Life’s bulk purchase annuity business and anticipated demand in the coming years as trustees increasingly look to de-risk their schemes.
Mark Fenlon, Annuities - Head of Client Services at Standard Life commented:
“The Standard Life BPA business has grown significantly over the last year. This partnership will support our growth plans and reflects the potential in this expanding market – with another strong year of volumes expected in 2022.
“With Equiniti’s market leading technology and substantial experience in the Defined Benefit administration market, we are confident that our partnership will help us provide a customer-centric proposition that meets the needs of Trustees, as well as ensuring good outcomes for customers who are at the heart of the service. We are delighted to have Equiniti on board as an administration partner to provide support in this specialist area, and we look forward to working in partnership with them to continue developing the proposition in the future.”
Duncan Watson, CEO, EQ Paymaster added:
“Technological expertise has long underpinned our pension administration services, and we are delighted to be helping Standard Life transform its digital estate to benefit its customers. As a leading provider of services to the UK’s public and private sector schemes and the Life and Pensions sector we are proud to partner with Standard Life to assist them in protecting and growing their BPA business. EQ Paymaster are ideally placed to manage complex and regulated UK administered pension schemes, payments, payroll and reporting and we look forward to assisting Standard Life in achieving their BPA strategic objectives in this ever-changing market.’’
Media enquiries
Standard Life media contacts
Jonathan Henderson
Head of PR
07716 090 707
jonathan_henderson@standardlife.com
Jennifer Smallwood
Senior PR Manager
07858 367 818
jennifer_smallwood@standardlife.com
Equiniti media contacts
Olivia Peters
Tulchan Communications
+44(0)20 7353 4200
equiniti@tulchangroup.com