Standard Life has reported a 25% increase in first-half adjusted operating profit as the retirement specialist moves towards completing its £2bn acquisition of Aegon UK and prepares to expand further into pension risk transfer.
IFRS adjusted operating profit reached £563m in the six months to 30 June, compared with £451m a year earlier. Operating cash generation increased 6% to £745m, while total cash generation rose 15% to £900m.
Assets under administration reached £333bn, up 5% from the end of 2025, and the group raised its interim dividend by 2.6% to 28.05p per share.
The results keep Standard Life on track for its 2026 financial targets, including approximately £1.1bn of adjusted operating profit and £250m of annual run-rate cost savings. It had delivered £210m of cumulative run-rate savings by the end of June.
Group chief executive Andy Briggs said: “Our strong half year results reflect how we are helping more customers achieve better outcomes.”
The operating improvement comes as the structure and scale of the business are changing materially.
Standard Life agreed in April to acquire Aegon UK for £2bn, a transaction expected to complete around the end of this year subject to regulatory approval.
On a pro-forma basis, the deal is expected to make Standard Life the UK’s largest pensions and savings provider, with a stronger position in workplace and retail markets.
Aegon will receive cash, debt-funded consideration, and 181m newly issued Standard Life shares, giving it a 15.3% stake in the enlarged group at completion.
Standard Life estimates that combining the businesses can generate around £800m of net synergies and approximately £400m of additional excess cash over five years.
Pensions and Savings adjusted operating profit increased 36% to £244m during the half, while average assets under administration in the division rose 10% to £217bn.
The group secured £6.2bn of new workplace scheme wins during the period, compared with £1.5bn across the whole of last year. Those mandates will principally influence future flows rather than current-period revenue.
Retail gross inflows also increased, supported by drawdown products, international bonds, and self-invested personal pensions. Standard Life has re-entered the onshore investment-bond market and is preparing to expand its advice proposition into inheritance-tax planning.
Pension risk transfer represents another major area of expansion. In that market, insurers assume responsibility for paying benefits due under corporate defined-benefit pension schemes in return for a premium funded from scheme assets.
Standard Life announced in August that it intends to establish a partnership with institutional investors including CVC Capital Partners and Prudential Financial of the US, alongside Goldman Sachs, MS&AD Insurance Group, and other participants.
The partnership is expected to have up to £2bn of initial combined capital, with Standard Life contributing £500m over five years. It is intended to increase the group’s capacity to compete for larger pension schemes, particularly transactions above £2bn.
Demand has increased as mature UK defined-benefit schemes improve their funding positions and seek to remove investment and longevity risk from corporate sponsors.
Standard Life estimates that around £1.1tn of UK scheme assets could be de-risked during the coming decade.
Scale is becoming increasingly important across the retirement market. Providers need substantial capital to write large annuity transactions, while workplace and retail platforms carry significant fixed technology, administration, and regulatory costs.
The Aegon acquisition increases Standard Life’s scale in fee-based pensions and savings. The proposed risk-transfer partnership uses external capital to increase its capacity in bulk annuities.
The group has also continued to reduce leverage. Its Solvency II leverage ratio fell to 29% from 33% at the end of 2025, reaching its target of around 30%. The shareholder capital coverage ratio stood at 169%, within its 140%-to-180% operating range.
Standard Life nevertheless reported an IFRS statutory loss after tax of £179m, compared with a £156m loss a year earlier, primarily reflecting economic variances associated with its hedging programme.
Management continues to place greater emphasis on operating profit, cash generation, and solvency measures when assessing underlying performance.
The current three-year strategy is approaching its end. The next phase will be shaped by integration of Aegon UK, launch of the pension risk transfer partnership, and decisions over the use of excess cash once deleveraging has largely been completed.
Standard Life plans to provide further detail on its post-2026 strategy and financial guidance at a capital markets update on 30 November.
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