The Aon 2021 Virtual Pension Conference has been designed for trustees of pension schemes and pensions, HR and finance professionals who make decisions about their company’s pension scheme. Pensions schemes and trustees have adapted over time with changes to the pensions landscape and the needs of members. This conference will help you reflect on your own pension scheme strategy and will include lots of real-life examples.

Undoubtedly, this conference series will look and feel different for many of you who are used to attending our in-person conferences but we have been working very hard to design this 2021 virtual conference so that you have the same experience. The conference will give you access to interesting and topical content and thought provoking insights from Aon specialists, and you will have a chance to network and discuss the content with other delegates in breakout rooms and in our virtual networking rooms.

REGISTER HERE

09:30 - 09:40

Welcome

Speakers: Chair

09:40 - 10:20

Helping you decide which risk settlement option to choose

Speakers: Karen Gainsford; Michael Walker

Guest Speaker: Jo Myerson - Ross Trustees; Gavin Smith - Legal & General

The risk settlement options available to schemes are expanding year by year. 2020 saw the starting gun fired for commercial consolidators, and the market for longevity swaps is more active than ever before. With more solutions available, how do you decide which options are right for your scheme?

In this session we will:

• summarise the key risk settlement options available in the current market
• summarise the decision-making framework that has been used successfully by Aon clients to assess the options
• share real life examples to bring the framework to life; and
• suggest next steps, to help you develop a framework for your scheme.

10:30 - 11:00

Endgame: Winning investment strategies

Speakers: Colin Cartwright, Ben Steen

Consolidators, capital-backed investment solutions and insurance – trustees and sponsors now have a range of options to get to their endgame more quickly, more cheaply and with less risk. Drawing on client case studies, this session will explore the practical steps trustees and sponsors can take at each stage of their endgame journey.

11:10 - 11:25

A contrarian view: why you might not buyout even if you can afford to

Speaker: Paul Heaney

As DB schemes mature, building up to full buyout has long been the primary endgame in town. Why wouldn’t a corporate take the opportunity to extinguish all liability when feasible, and a Trustee not take the additional benefit security of a large insurance company? This session offers a contrarian view, to explore the benefits of intentionally delaying buyout, to:

• Target future surplus extraction for the corporate as the scheme naturally matures
• Potentially improve member benefits with discretionary increases
• Allow members to continue enjoying options/benefits an insurance company would not provide
• Provide equivalent levels of security/risk over a finite period
• Consider what we can learn from approaches used by commercial consolidators

This contrarian view may be more suitable for consideration by medium or larger schemes. The aim of this session is to outline the key considerations in order to make an informed decision on the future endgame of your scheme, with all options considered.

11:25 - 11:55

Virtual networking