Aon Minet Pension Scheme, Surrey, England, reduced its liabilities by £60 million ($74.4 million) after completing a bulk enhanced transfer value for a proportion of its participants, a spokeswoman said.
The deal was offered to former employees vested in the £900 million plan, with a 33% take-up rate, said sponsoring employer Aon PLC in a news release. The enhanced transfer value option is essentially a lump-sump payment offer to former employees who have yet to retire.
“The close collaboration between the company, trustees and their advisers was vital in the overall success of the project and in designing an offer that would meet the objective of all stakeholders. The trustees now have a smaller plan to manage with reduced pension risk,” Steve Gilbert, chairman of trustees of the pension plan, said in the release.
The move is part of Aon's longer-term derisking objective for the U.K. defined benefit plans it sponsors. It has completed three buy-in deals for its plans in the past five years, totaling about £1.2 billion.
