AXA in 2.8 billion pounds longevity swap deal with Reinsurance Group of America

LONDON (Reuters) - The AXA UK Group Pension Scheme said on Monday that it has agreed a 2.8 billion pound longevity swap deal with Reinsurance Group of America.

The deal covers 11,000 pensioners and hedges the scheme's risk against costs resulting from its members living longer than initially expected, the company said in a statement.

"By significantly de-risking the scheme, this will benefit all our DB (defined benefit) scheme members and will not affect any payments to members as they will continue to receive their pension as normal," Stephen Yandle, chairman of AXA UK Pension Trustees Ltd, said in the statement.

Since the first such deal in 2009, 30 pension schemes have opted for longevity swaps covering 53.4 billion pounds in liabilities, according to data from Hymans Robertson.

(Reporting by Nishant Kumar; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)