UK to review pension transfer rules after unusual deal

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Britain will review defined benefit pension transfer rules after a novel deal saw an asset manager take on a scheme's assets and liabilities in an unanticipated use of existing legislation, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Torsten Bell, a junior minister in the finance and pensions departments, said the deal used a flexible apportionment arrangement – a mechanism introduced in 2012 to allow pension liabilities to be reassigned during corporate restructurings without triggering employer insolvency.

Bell said the asset manager used the mechanism in December last year in a way that had not originally been anticipated.

"We therefore intend to review this area of legislation to ensure the regulatory standards and safeguards evolve and keep pace with the innovation we are seeing in the pension market," Bell said in a statement.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by Sarah Young)