Just Group plc
Just Group plc is a UK retirement-services and insurance group specialising in retirement income, defined-benefit de-risking, equity release and related financial advice.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Just Group plc is a British financial-services and insurance group focused on retirement products and services. The business originated as Just Retirement in 2004, initially concentrating on annuities for people whose health or lifestyle could result in a shorter life expectancy than standard actuarial assumptions. Through medical underwriting, the company could offer enhanced retirement income to customers with serious health conditions, including heart disease, or to heavy smokers. This specialisation distinguished it from providers offering largely standardised annuity rates. The company expanded beyond its initial enhanced-annuity proposition during the 2010s. It launched a fixed-term retirement product linked to enhanced annuity rates in 2011, created a pensions de-risking operation in 2012, and entered the long-term-care and individually underwritten annuity markets in 2013. It floated on the London Stock Exchange in November 2013 after previously being listed on the Alternative Investment Market and subsequently acquired by Permira in 2009. A major corporate turning point came in April 2016, when Just Retirement merged with Partnership Assurance. The enlarged group was initially named JRP Group plc, reflecting the combination of the two retirement specialists. In May 2017 it adopted the Just Group name, bringing the group’s consumer-facing activities under the Just brand. Its business has since covered several connected parts of the retirement market. These include retirement income products, bulk and individual defined-benefit pension de-risking solutions, long-term-care-related offerings, equity-release and lifetime-mortgage products, and retirement advice. The company also owns HUB Financial Solutions, a corporate advice business that provides retirement guidance and an automated advice service. In 2021, Just applied its medical-underwriting capabilities to lifetime mortgages, enabling people aged 55 and over to access wealth held in their homes while incorporating health and lifestyle information into product assessment. Just has also positioned itself around responsible investment and sustainability in insurance and retirement finance. In 2020 it issued what it described as the first green bond from a UK insurer and launched a green lifetime mortgage. In 2021 it issued a Sustainability RT1 Bond, described as the first instrument of its kind in the UK and European insurance sector. The group joined the Principles for Responsible Investment and was listed as a signatory of the UK Stewardship Code in 2024. It was also ranked second among financial-services companies in the Financial Times and Statista list of Europe’s Climate Leaders for 2022. The company’s public-market history included periods of regulatory and capital-market pressure. In 2018, its share price fell after the Prudential Regulation Authority proposed changes affecting the valuation of equity-release mortgages and the possible effect on regulatory capital. Just suspended dividends while it adjusted its balance sheet to meet Solvency II requirements, later reintroducing payments in March 2022. In 2019, it faced criticism over the relationship between Age UK’s commercial arm, Age Co, and an equity-release advice service operated by its subsidiary HUB Financial Solutions. Critics questioned whether the advice process provided customers with sufficiently broad choice from a stated panel of providers. Just Group agreed in July 2025 to be acquired by Brookfield Wealth Solutions for £2.4 billion. The transaction received court approval on 27 March 2026 and completed thereafter, ending the company’s status as an independently listed public company. Its historical identity remains associated with the Just brand and with specialist retirement solutions based on underwriting, longevity risk management and pension de-risking.
History
Just Group began in 2004 as Just Retirement, a specialist provider of retirement products for customers whose health and lifestyle characteristics could justify enhanced annuity rates. Its medical-underwriting model enabled the company to assess individual longevity risk rather than relying solely on standard age and demographic assumptions. The resulting products were particularly relevant to people with serious health conditions or heavy smoking histories. The company was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market before being bought out by Permira in 2009. It continued expanding its retirement proposition, launching a fixed-term product linked to enhanced annuity rates in 2011 and establishing a pensions de-risking arm in 2012. In 2013 it entered long-term care and individually underwritten annuities, and it completed an initial public offering in November of that year. In April 2016, Just Retirement merged with Partnership Assurance. The combined company was named JRP Group plc, reflecting the initials of the two predecessor businesses. In May 2017, it changed its name to Just Group plc. The rebranded group broadened its activities across individual retirement income, institutional pension risk transfer, defined-benefit de-risking, lifetime mortgages and retirement advice. The company’s product development increasingly connected its underwriting expertise with property-backed retirement finance. In 2021 it applied medical underwriting to lifetime mortgages for people aged 55 and over, seeking to account for health factors when assessing equity-release customers. Its corporate advice subsidiary, HUB Financial Solutions, added advice and automated retirement-support capabilities to the group’s manufacturing and risk-management businesses. Capital and regulatory matters were significant in the group’s public-company period. A July 2018 update concerning Prudential Regulation Authority proposals on equity-release mortgage valuation caused concern about the possible effect on regulatory capital and was followed by a share-price decline. The group suspended dividends while adjusting its balance sheet to meet Solvency II requirements, later restoring dividend payments in March 2022. Just also developed a sustainability profile. It launched a green bond and green lifetime mortgage in 2020, followed in 2021 by a Sustainability RT1 Bond described as the first of its type in the UK and European insurance sector. The group became a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment and was included in the UK Stewardship Code signatory list in 2024. It also participated in public sponsorship, including sponsorship of World Bowls Events from 2014 through 2018. In July 2025, Brookfield Wealth Solutions agreed to acquire Just Group for £2.4 billion. Court approval was granted on 27 March 2026, allowing the transaction to complete. The acquisition ended Just Group’s independent listing and placed the business within Brookfield Wealth Solutions, while preserving its historical role as a specialist provider of UK retirement and insurance solutions.
- 2026
Acquisition completed
[1]The transaction received court approval on 27 March 2026 and completed thereafter.
- 2025
Brookfield acquisition agreed
[1]Brookfield Wealth Solutions agreed to acquire Just Group for £2.4 billion.
- 2024
Recognised as a UK Stewardship Code signatory
[1]Just was listed as a signatory of the UK Stewardship Code by the Financial Reporting Council.
- 2022
Dividend payments restored
[1]Just resumed dividend payments after balance-sheet work related to Solvency II capital requirements.
- 2021
Medical underwriting applied to lifetime mortgages
[1]The company applied its medical-underwriting technology to lifetime mortgage products for customers aged 55 and over and issued a Sustainability RT1 Bond.
- 2020
Green finance initiatives launched
[1]Just launched a green bond and its first green lifetime mortgage.
- 2017
Name changed to Just Group
[1]The group adopted the Just Group plc name.
- 2016
Merger with Partnership Assurance
[1]Just Retirement merged with Partnership Assurance and became JRP Group plc.
- 2013
Market expansion and initial public offering
[1]The company entered long-term care and individually underwritten annuities, then completed an IPO in November.
- 2012
Pensions de-risking arm established
[1]Just established a business focused on pension de-risking.
Products and positioning
A specialist UK retirement and insurance group using medical underwriting, longevity expertise and risk-management capabilities to serve retirees, pension schemes and institutional clients.
Retirement income · 2004
Enhanced annuities
Individually assessed annuities designed for customers whose health or lifestyle may imply a shorter life expectancy than standard actuarial assumptions. Medical underwriting can produce a higher retirement income than a conventional annuity, with the company historically serving people with serious health conditions and heavy smokers.
Retirement income · 2011
Fixed-term retirement products
Products introduced to provide retirement income for a defined period, with features linked to enhanced annuity rates. They broadened the company’s initial focus beyond conventional lifetime annuities.
Pension de-risking · 2012
Defined Benefits De-risking Solution
A set of institutional retirement solutions intended to help defined-benefit pension schemes reduce exposure to longevity and other pension-payment risks. The offering forms part of Just’s institutional insurance and pension risk-transfer activities.
Equity release · 2021
Lifetime mortgages
Equity-release mortgages that allow eligible older homeowners to access wealth held in their property. From 2021, Just applied medical-underwriting capabilities to this product area, incorporating health information into its assessment approach.
Retirement advice
HUB Financial Solutions advice services
Advice and guidance services provided through the group’s corporate advice business, including an automated retirement advice service. HUB supports customers and partner organisations in navigating retirement and equity-release decisions.
Controversies
2019
Criticism of Age UK and HUB Financial Solutions relationship
Just was criticised after claims that Age UK’s commercial arm, Age Co, directed users to an equity-release advice service operated by HUB Financial Solutions, a Just-owned business. Although customers were reportedly told that the service compared products from five providers, critics argued that the process commonly resulted in an offer from only one panel member, Just itself.
Marketing campaigns
- 2017Just-branded World Bowls sponsorship
United Kingdom · International
Following the adoption of the Just Group name, the company continued sponsoring World Bowls Events in 2017 and 2018 under the Just brand.
Outcome. The sponsorship ran through the 2018 event.
- 2014World Bowls Events sponsorship
United Kingdom · International
The company sponsored World Bowls Events during 2014, 2015 and 2016, using sponsorship to increase visibility for its retirement-services brand.
Outcome. The sponsorship continued through the 2016 event and was subsequently carried forward under the Just brand.
Brand decisions
2025
Agreed sale to Brookfield Wealth SolutionsM&ABackground
Just Group remained a specialist retirement and insurance provider but faced a change in ownership following Brookfield Wealth Solutions’ approach.
Action taken
The parties agreed a takeover valued at £2.4 billion.
Aftermath
Court approval was granted on 27 March 2026 and the acquisition completed, ending Just Group’s independent public listing.
Agreed acquisition value. £2.4 billion (July 2025 agreement)
2022
Restored dividend paymentsStrategyBackground
Just had halted dividends while making balance-sheet changes to comply with Solvency II capital requirements.
Action taken
The company reintroduced dividend payments to investors.
Aftermath
The restoration indicated that management considered the relevant capital and balance-sheet adjustments sufficiently advanced to resume distributions.
2021
Introduced medically underwritten lifetime mortgagesProduct launchBackground
Just had historically used medical underwriting for enhanced annuities and sought to apply that expertise to property-backed retirement finance.
Action taken
The company applied medical-underwriting technology to lifetime mortgage products for people aged 55 and over.
Aftermath
The move extended Just’s underwriting model into the equity-release market.
2021
Issued Sustainability RT1 BondOtherBackground
The company continued developing sustainable-finance instruments after its green bond initiatives.
Action taken
Just issued a Sustainability RT1 Bond, described as the first of its kind in the UK and European insurance sector.
Aftermath
The issuance strengthened the group’s sustainability-finance credentials.
2020
Expanded sustainable-finance offeringStrategyBackground
The group sought to connect its retirement and insurance activities with environmental and sustainable-finance objectives.
Action taken
Just issued a green bond and launched a green lifetime mortgage, described as the first such bond issued by a UK insurer and the company’s first green lifetime mortgage.
Aftermath
The initiatives established a sustainability-focused strand within the group’s retirement-finance activities.
2018
Responded to proposed equity-release valuation rulesOtherBackground
The Prudential Regulation Authority proposed changes affecting the valuation of equity-release mortgages. Just warned that implementation could reduce its regulatory capital position.
Action taken
The company disclosed the potential capital effect in a business update and subsequently undertook balance-sheet changes connected with Solvency II requirements.
Aftermath
The announcement was followed by a fall in the company’s share price. Dividend payments were later suspended and restored in March 2022.
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