LONDON (22 August 2018) – Aon, the leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has said that the UK pension industry needs a clearer definition of what it means by ‘good outcomes’ for members of pension schemes, if investment strategies are to fulfil their aims.

While the concept of a good outcome is generally recognised across the pension industry, no clear definition of it currently exists and which can therefore be incorporated into investment strategies. With the diverse nature of defined contribution (DC) scheme members only increasing, greater clarity is needed to aid targeting a sustainable level of retirement saving.

Chris Inman, head of DC investment advisory at Aon, said:
“Saving for retirement has never been easy but the introduction of Freedom and Choice introduced new variables for people to deal with – and which the industry is still grappling with.  DC schemes are focused on providing good outcomes for scheme members – but what is actually meant by that phrase and how they can be achieved is less straightforward.

“We believe that an individualised glidepath can be constructed for each DC saver that targets a sustainable level of retirement saving using risk-rated building blocks.  Key to that, is not only a clear definition of what a good outcome looks like but also avoiding the common mistake present in traditional DC lifestyling - which is de-risking too early and missing out on growth opportunities.”

An instance of this sort of rigidity in traditional lifestyling came where it could force members to disinvest from assets at inopportune times. A traditional lifestyle could have sold out of equities in February 2009 - just before the market bounce back - simply because the DC saver had become a little older. An individualised approach allows members to 'bank' returns they have accumulated while continuing to participate in market growth when required.

At the heart of this process for DC schemes – and ultimately for members - is a good investment strategy that incorporates a good level of diversification.

Chris Inman continued:
“Changing models of retirement mean we need to look again at what a good outcome is for DC savers and how it can be delivered – and it’s vital not to de-risk too early.

“No matter what members’ personal objectives are, delivering stable returns above inflation and ensuring capital preservation have to be the two key investment objectives of a default strategy for those nearing the point of accessing their DC savings. Many current approaches which combine cash and UK fixed income now risk significant capital losses, so diversification and individualisation is very much the answer.”

Media Contact
For further information please contact:
Colin Mayes                                           Marina Sanchez
Aon                                                       CNC
01372 733689                                         07535 693214
colin.mayes@aon.com                            aon@cnc-communications.com

Notes to Editors
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.
Aon announced in May 2018 it will retire the business unit brands of Aon Benfield and Aon Risk Solutions, which follows the retirement of the Aon Hewitt business unit brand in 2017. This move was designed to increase the rate of innovation across the firm and make it easier for colleagues to work together to bring the best of Aon to clients. Aon has five specific global solution lines: Commercial Risk Solutions, Reinsurance Solutions, Retirement Solutions, Health Solutions and Data & Analytic Services.

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