LONDON, 16 December 2013 – Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has announced that it was the lead advisor to the AstraZeneca Pension Fund Trustee for its £2.5 billion longevity swap with Deutsche Bank. This longevity swap is the latest in a line of multi-billion pound pensions de-risking transactions in the UK and further enhances Aon Hewitt's status as leading advisors in pensions risk management.

The arrangement provides hedging against the longevity risk of around 10,000 of the fund's current pensioners and covers £2.5 billion of liabilities.

Matt Wilmington, partner at Aon Hewitt, said:

“We led the advice to a joint working group of the Trustee alongside corporate representatives and the Trustees’ regular advisors on this significant transaction.  This enabled a clear decision making framework to be established regarding the price and structural terms of the transaction, allowing the Trustee to put in place a robust arrangement at an acceptable price.

“It was clear during the negotiations for this transaction that the capacity and appetite of the global reinsurance market to take on pension fund longevity risk is ever increasing. Together with Deutsche Bank we ran a competitive process including the established reinsurers as well as a number of new market entrants which has enabled the fund to transact at the best available terms.”

Aon Hewitt is seeing continued interest in similar transactions and expects to add to those which have already taken place in the UK.
 

Media Contact
Adam Leviton
Capital MSL    
020 3219 8810 
 adam.leviton@capitalmsl.com

Notes to editors

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt empowers organisations and individuals to secure a better future through innovative talent, retirement and health solutions. We advise, design and execute a wide range of solutions that enable clients to cultivate talent to drive organisational and personal performance and growth, navigate risk while providing new levels of financial security, and redefine health solutions for greater choice, affordability and wellness.  Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource solutions, with over 30,000 professionals in 90 countries serving more than 20,000 clients worldwide.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

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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 65,000 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.