LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Brookfield Wealth Solutions ( BNT )

said on Monday it was entering the UK pension insurance

market, as Canadian financial giant Brookfield looks to tap into

strong demand from companies to offload their pension scheme

risks to insurers.

The move marks a rare new entrant into the UK pension

insurance market, and one armed with Brookfield's sizeable

financial firepower.

Brookfield Wealth Solutions ( BNT ), which was spun out of the

sprawling Brookfield Corporation ( BN ) in 2021, expects to

begin operations later this quarter under the Blumont Annuity UK

brand, it said in a statement.

Bulk annuities are a form of insurance whereby a company's

pension plan offloads liabilities to an insurer.

Reuters reported in 2023 that Brookfield was considering

entering the UK market and scanning the sector for potential

deals to access bulk annuities.

The bulk annuities market has been growing in recent years,

although growth has plateaued more recently.

British pension insurance deals totalled 45 billion pounds

in 2024, with 40 billion to 50 billion pounds in deals expected

this year along with new entrants into the sector, adviser LCP

said in a report last month.

Life insurers such as Aviva, Legal & General ( LGGNF )

, and Phoenix, have expanded in recent years

into the profitable but competitive market with companies eager

to offload pension scheme risk from their balance sheets.

"With more than $140 billion in total assets, we look

forward to serving the retirement needs of UK pensioners for the

long term," said Sachin Shah, CEO, Brookfield Wealth Solutions ( BNT ).

"Our group-wide commitment is to provide long-term financial

security for our policyholders and clients, serviced by strong,

well capitalized companies with high quality investment

portfolios," Shah added in the statement.

The launch is subject to final regulatory approvals,

Brookfield said.