# Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank Pension Scheme

Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank Pension Scheme is a Pension Fund based in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Glasgow, United Kingdom
- **Region:** Europe
- **Address:** Glasgow, United Kingdom
- **Founded:** 1994
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** virginmoneyukplc.com
- **LinkedIn:** linkedin.com/company/yorkshire-clydesdale-bank-pension-scheme

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank Pension Scheme was established in 1994 to provide retirement benefits to employees of the former Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, now consolidated under Virgin Money UK PLC. The scheme operates as a defined benefit plan, closed to new accrual, with its obligations sponsored by the banks that have since been acquired by Nationwide Building Society in a deal that completed in October 2024. The trustee board, chaired by Dr. Inderpreet Singh Dhingra, governs the fund with the assistance of Law Debenture Pension Trust Corporation, which provides independent professional trustee services. Investment strategy is dominated by a liability-matching framework, with a substantial allocation to UK real estate held through both direct properties and pooled funds. Confirmed positions include a directly held commercial portfolio and interests in the Knight Frank Investment Management Long Income Property Unit Trust and a CBRE Global Investors mixed-use property portfolio. The scheme also holds a niche land parcel on Oak Street in Bath. In a defining derisking move, the trustees entered a £1.6 billion longevity swap with Zurich Assurance Ltd, reinsured by Pacific Life Re, transferring the financial risk of members living longer than expected to the insurance and reinsurance markets. The scheme's maturity is underscored by its strategic target: buyout. Employer Virgin Money UK PLC, and its new parent Nationwide Building Society, have set a course for the fund to ultimately transfer its obligations to an insurance company, winding down the trustee-managed vehicle. Membership networks include the Clydesdale Bank Pensioners Association, and the fund has acknowledged pressure from the Make My Money Matter campaign regarding net-zero investment alignment. In October 2024, Nationwide Building Society completed its acquisition of Virgin Money, making Nationwide the ultimate parent of the scheme's sponsoring employer. The fund's structural differentiator is its advanced position on the endgame path for a mid-sized UK bank pension scheme. This two-speed approach—fully hedged biometric risk alongside a physical real asset portfolio awaiting transaction—defines its current operational reality.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Insurance-Linked Strategies

## People

- Inderpreet Singh Dhingra — Chairman of the Board of Trustees

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank Pension Scheme?

The board of trustees, chaired by Dr. Inderpreet Singh Dhingra, holds fiduciary responsibility for investment decisions. The board works with Law Debenture Pension Trust Corporation for independent professional trustee services. Day-to-day investment management is delegated to external managers, as evidenced by the scheme's holdings in pooled property funds managed by Knight Frank Investment Management and CBRE Global Investors.

### How is the scheme related to Nationwide Building Society?

Nationwide Building Society became the ultimate parent of the scheme's sponsoring employer when it completed the acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC in October 2024. Prior to that, the sponsor was Virgin Money, which itself was formed from the consolidation of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank. The scheme maintains a separate trustee board and its obligations remain ring-fenced from the sponsor's corporate treasury.

### What happened in the scheme's longevity swap, and who were the counterparties?

The trustees executed a £1.6 billion longevity swap to hedge against the risk that pensioner members live longer than actuarial projections anticipate. Zurich Assurance Ltd acted as the direct insurer counterparty, with Pacific Life Re providing reinsurance backing for the transaction. The structure transfers the biometric risk to the insurance market while the scheme retains its investment assets.

### Where does the scheme's underlying funding come from?

The scheme is a corporate defined benefit pension plan funded by employer contributions from the banking group that historically traded as Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank. The sponsor is Virgin Money UK PLC, now a subsidiary of Nationwide Building Society, and the scheme is closed to new benefit accrual. Its funding position relies on employer covenant strength and investment returns from a largely de-risked asset portfolio.

## Related profiles

- [York Wealth Management](https://altss.com/profile/york-wealth-management)
- [Yorkshire Forward](https://altss.com/profile/yorkshire-forward)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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