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Aon Hewitt launches 'Pension Scheme De-risking – a Practical Guide'
NYSE: AON

 

LONDON, 17 October 2012 – Aon Hewitt, the human resource solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), has launched Pension Scheme De-risking - a Practical Guide. The guide provides advice to trustees and sponsors on how to plan a de-risking strategy and follows on from Aon Hewitt’s Mid-Market Pension Survey, released earlier this year, which looked at the key issues facing the UK's medium-sized pension schemes.

Paul McGlone partner at Aon Hewitt said: 

“This year's Aon Hewitt Mid-Market Pension Survey found that over 80% of UK pension schemes with assets up to £500m are now closed to new entrants and that 40% have also closed to accrual. As schemes increase in maturity, both scheme sponsors and trustees will consider their plans for reducing scheme risk. This guide is designed to aid them in that process, assessing how prepared they are for de-risking and helping them to plan their approach – including, crucially, the development of a flight plan.”

The guide covers the following issues:

• Setting funding targets and flight plans in order to define what ‘de-risking’ means for individual pension schemes.
• How trustees and sponsors can monitor the process once the flight plan is set.
• Taking advantage of de-risking opportunities arising from influences outside the control of schemes.
• How to incorporate liability de-risking into a flight plan.
• Dealing with challenges and threats during the course of a flight plan.
• Actions that pension schemes, trustee boards and pensions teams need to perform to ensure the scheme is ready to take advantage of opportunities.
• How trustees, pensions teams and interactions with third parties may need to change for a de-risking strategy to operate effectively.

Paul McGlone continued:
“De-risking a pension scheme is a long-term project with plenty of moving parts. The best de-risking plans will include details of the ultimate target, the clear steps needed to be taken along the way and, perhaps as importantly, a clear vision of the operational model required to make sure the flight plan is delivered. The most critical aspects are to set the right targets and to introduce the correct structures so that trustees and sponsors are in the best position to make prompt and well-considered decisions.”

 

Media Contact: 

Colin Mayes                                                 Adam Leviton
 Aon Hewitt                                                   Capital MSL
 01372 733689                                            020 7307 5339
colin.mayes@aonhewitt.com                   adam.leviton@capitalmsl.com

 

Notes to Editors
Pension Scheme De-risking – a Practical Guide is available at: http://www.aon.com/unitedkingdom/mid-market/mid-market-survey.jsp

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource solutions.  The company partners with organisations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance.  Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies.  With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 61,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

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