Rexam Group Pension Scheme

Rexam Group Pension Scheme

The Rexam Pension Plan is a legacy UK defined benefit scheme that ceased future accrual on 5 April 2024, a milestone that redefined the Trustee's mandate from benefit administration to liability settlement. The Plan provides pensions for over 14,000 members, with a Pensions Department of 14 professionals operating from Hildenborough, Kent. The Trustee board consists of an Independent Chair, a company-appointed Trustee, and a member-nominated Trustee — a tripartite governance model typical of UK DB schemes now focused on endgame execution. Strategic deployment culminated in a £1.4 billion full scheme buy-in with Rothesay, one of the UK's largest specialist pension insurers. This transaction, completed prior to the wind-up notice issued to members in September 2025, transfers the Plan's investment and longevity risk to Rothesay and signifies a full exit from open-market asset management. The Plan's sponsoring employer, now Ball Corporation following its 2016 acquisition of Rexam, retains a residual connection visible in the 2026 website copyright, but the buy-in essentially severs the pension liabilities from the corporate balance sheet. The Pensions Department in Kent continues to serve deferred members and pensioners during the wind-up process, which accelerated in February 2025 with a lump sum option communication to select members. The Trustee's 14-person team handles day-to-day administration, member queries, and statutory reporting, including the December 2025 Report to Members and the First Surplus Notice. The wind-up notice reaffirms that the Plan is no longer an ongoing allocator but a structure executing its final liability discharge. Structurally, the Plan represents the terminal phase of UK DB pension dynamics: an asset owner that has completed its de-risking journey and now operates purely as a benefit-paying conduit. Its governance remains with the Trustee board, but investment decisions have been fully delegated to Rothesay under the buy-in contract. There are no known adjacent vehicles, philanthropic entities, or co-investment activities — the entity is singularly focused on winding up and distributing surplus, if any, once all member benefits are secured.