Global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW has launched Longevity Stream, a new longevity swap product designed to make longevity risk management for UK defined benefit pension schemes more accessible and cost-effective.
The solution was developed to address challenges that have historically restricted the use of longevity swaps by small and medium-sized pension schemes. Although longevity swaps are widely used in the UK pension market, the company said implementation and ongoing administration costs often make them less practical for schemes with fewer resources.
WTW notes that more than £170bn of longevity risk has been transferred to reinsurers since 2009, with the company acting as lead adviser on more than £100bn of transactions.
Longevity Stream is available to pension schemes with liabilities between £100m and £1bn. WTW added that the solution is designed to support trustees considering continuous strategies while also allowing for a direct transition to batch annuities should the need arise in the future.
As part of the offering, the trustee will have access to a panel of leading global reinsurers through a structured market process, with Zurich as an intermediary.
Longevity Stream combines pre-negotiated legal documentation developed with CMS Law Firm and a streamlined operating model designed to reduce complexity and enable plans to implement longevity swaps under a fixed fee structure.
The company said there is renewed focus on longevity risks following the latest CMI mortality forecast improvement and a record low mortality rate in 2026, a development it believes puts greater focus on the prospect of further improvements in life expectancy.
WTW Senior Director Rhys Mellens commented: “Demand for longevity swaps has grown in recent years, with schemes increasingly looking to manage longevity risk, either as part of an ongoing strategy or to lock in key drivers of future buy pricing.
“We are seeing growing interest from plans who want to enter this market but are hindered by complexity and cost. Longevity Stream removes these barriers, giving plans a more efficient route to market while retaining future flexibility and enabling them to access attractive prices today.”
Amanda Chamming, partner at CMS, added: “Longevity Stream provides significant flexibility to plans that may have previously struggled to access the longevity swaps market, allowing them to further reduce risk, enhance plan security and protect long-term outcomes for members.”
To learn more about longevity risk transfer and view details of completed transactions across the market, please visit the Artemis longevity risk transfer transaction directory.
