Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what protections are in place in the UK to ensure bulk purchase annuities are guaranteed to pay the promised pensions for the rest of each member's life.

Bulk purchase annuities are provided by authorised insurers and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority. This requires insurers to hold capital and manage risks so that they can meet their long-term obligations to policyholders.

Where a pension scheme secures members’ benefits through an insurance buy-out, responsibility for paying those benefits transfers from the scheme to the insurer. Eligible annuity policyholders are also protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if an authorised insurer fails.