Retirement specialist Just Group, created from last year's tie-up of Just Retirement and Partnership, is looking to beef up its workforce after hitting a £40m savings target a year earlier than planned. 

The FTSE 250 life insurer has hired Legal & General executive Kathryn Grey as its group HR director, with chief executive Rodney Cook telling The Telegraph the group now wants to fill around 60 jobs. 

The hiring drives comes as the company - formed after the share prices of the two legacy groups were slammed by reforms to pensions that weakened demand for annuity products - said it has boosted its savings target to £45m. 

The group, which sells financial products to savers and companies for retirement, has cut costs by closing its Redhill office, freeing up two floors in its London building and reviewing a swathe of external contracts. 

"Naturally when you're one company you don't want to buy paper from two different people - it sounds boring but it's important work," Mr Cook said, emphasising that the merger has bedded in sooner than planned. 

"We'll drop the word 'integration' at the end of this year [and] bring our programme to a conclusion a year early. The word [integration] harks back to the past and to some extent people see it as a sort of negative." 

In a business update for the six months to June 30, the group also said new business sales rose 3pc on last year to £975m. Shares in Just Group were up 6pc following the announcement. 

The new jobs are expected to come into Just's London and Reigate offices, and across business lines. Mr Cook said he further M&A deals were not currently on his radar. 

The company rebranded from its previous name - JRP Group - earlier this year.