Legal & General’s results demonstrate dominance in evolving pension risk transfer market
Hugh Fairclough, partner and head of financial services at RSM UK, comments on Legal & General’s full year results:
“Legal & General’s results underline its position as a dominant force in the UK pension risk transfer market, which has quietly become one of the largest institutional insurance opportunities in the UK. The results don’t just reflect a strong year; they highlight how the pension risk transfer market is evolving and who is best placed to lead it.
“The UK pension risk transfer market is now sustainably running at around £45–50 bn a year, and looks set to remain at that level for the next decade or more. L&G’s £10.4bn of UK pensions risk transfer volumes - around 20% market share - reinforces its role as one of the market’s long‑standing leaders, not just a cyclical winner.
“What differentiates L&G is its integrated model. In a more competitive bulk annuity market, pricing alone no longer wins the biggest deals. The decisive factor is increasingly asset origination - access to long dated private credit and alternative assets that can be deployed efficiently against pension liabilities. That’s why we’re seeing an asset sourcing arms race across the pension risk transfer market, and why insurers with strong origination platforms are pulling ahead.
“With a 2026 pipeline that includes £17 bn of transactions actively being priced, and multiple £1bn‑plus deals already in view, L&G is well‑positioned to lead the next phase of market growth.”