LONDON (9 May, 2016) – Aon (NYSE:AON), has announced that Legal & General (L&G) has been selected as the preferred pension provider for Littleblue 2go, Aon’s online tool aimed at helping smaller employers to manage their auto-enrolment duties.  

Littleblue 2go is designed to assist smaller sized employers (2 to 250 employees) in establishing a qualifying workplace pension scheme as simply and cost effectively as possible . This group is the last to comply with auto-enrolment regulation. Littleblue 2go also provides support tools to guide employers through the steps necessary to adhere to the relevant auto-enrolment legislation.

As part of an ongoing review of Littleblue 2go, Aon is now partnering with Legal & General as the preferred pension provider for the Littleblue 2go platform. This offers small businesses an attractive charging structure with no additional employer or employee fees attached to the pension scheme, unlike many other auto-enrolment solutions. At a very low additional cost, via Aon's additional tools and services, it provides employers with support in relation to the other important compliance tasks which sit outside the scope of the pension provider. This includes, reminders and guidance for completing the Declaration of Compliance with the Pension Regulator – which has resulted in significant penalties for those employers who have missed it.

Clare Abrahams, Head of Auto-enrolment at Aon Employee Benefits, said:
“As the last staging dates of auto-enrolment are fast approaching, it is estimated that there are still 1.5 million small businesses who need to auto-enrol their employees into a pension scheme – and they need to make important decisions in a relatively short space of time. The Pensions Regulator has recently confirmed there has been a considerable increase in compliance action against companies failing to meet their duties. Therefore, making sure all the arrangements and processes are in place on time is crucial to avoid any fines.
 
“Smaller businesses might not have the resources or time to gain an understanding of all the auto-enrolment requirements or providers.  Many feel much happier knowing that a professional organisation has carried out this work on their behalf. They also appreciate the benefit of accessing an online platform where they can find product, support, communications and educational information for employees in one place.”

Clare Abrahams continued:
“As well as a very strong brand, the offering with Legal & General provides an attractive flat rate charge and, following an initial brief online employer questionnaire, the Aon team step in to set up the scheme on their behalf, meaning that the process is very quick and straightforward.  That can also help cater for employers who may have left things a bit late.”

Emma Douglas, Head of DC at Legal & General said:
"We are pleased that Aon has chosen us as the preferred pension scheme provider for its Littleblue 2go platform. We believe this tool can help streamline the auto-enrolment process and remove the hassle for employers as well as helping to ensure that employers have all the information and processes in place to maximise their return on investment.”

With Littleblue 2go employers can expect:
•    Confidence that Aon have carried out a background broking exercise in order to select L&G as their preferred partner provider.  Aon conducted a full market review to select the right partner(s) to work with smaller employers.
•    An Annual Management Charge (AMC) at a flat rate of 0.5% and, unusually for the SME market, there are no additional employer or employee fees payable to L&G.  
•    Streamlined questionnaire designed to capture all the necessary auto-enrolment design requirements (without employers being required to read all the detailed guidance).
•    Set up of the L&G Pension Scheme on the employer's behalf
•    Interactive Planner Tool, which alerts employers to key tasks that need to be completed and by when, including automated email reminders to ensure they do not miss any important deadlines
•    Guidance and support tools (within the planner) – including data templates and instructions, simple assessment tool and additional communications
•    Helpline support
•    Basic scheme governance support (via an annual report)
•    Aon Retirement Service, which provides support as individuals decide how to take their pension benefits. Individuals receive login details five years before their target retirement age and receive access to the website, which contains useful information on retirement options and tools to help individuals plan what they might want to do.  Twelve months before the target retirement age, the Aon Retirement Service team contacts the individual to offer further guidance and support.

As part of Littleblue 2go, small businesses can also have access to a NOW:Pensions scheme depending on their requirements and pensions design.

More information on Littleblue 2go can be found at https://getlittleblue.com/

Media Contact:
For further information please contact:
Colin Mayes                                         Marina Jané Sánchez        
Aon Hewitt                                            CNC
01372 733689                                        020 3219 8811
colin.mayes@aonhewitt.com                   marina.jane-sanchez@cnc-communications.com

Notes to Editors
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global provider of risk management, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 72,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative risk and people solutions. For further information on our capabilities and to learn how we empower results for clients, please visit: http://aon.mediaroom.com.

About Legal & General Investment Management

Legal & General Investment Management is one of Europe’s largest asset managers and a major global investor, with total assets of £757 billion*. We work with a wide range of global clients, including pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, fund distributors and retail investors.

Throughout the past 40 years we have built our business through understanding what matters most to our clients and transforming this insight into valuable, accessible investment products and solutions. We provide investment expertise across the full spectrum of asset classes including fixed income, equities, commercial property and cash. Our capabilities range from index-tracking and active strategies to liquidity management and liability-based risk management solutions.

*as at 31 December 2015, including derivative positions and advisory assets.

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