Aon Retirement Plan, Surrey, England, reduced its liabilities by £80 million ($106.5 million) after completing a bulk enhanced transfer value for a portion of its participants, a spokeswoman said.
The transfer was available to employees vested in the £3.5 billion plan, with a 22% takeup rate, said sponsoring employer Aon PLC in a news release.
"The plan is well funded, with a disclosed surplus on an accounting basis of around £600 million as at Dec. 31, 2017," the spokeswoman said. The funding ratio as of that date was 121%.
The enhanced transfer value option is essentially a lump-sum payment offer to former employees who have yet to retire. It follows an ETV carried out for another one of Aon's pension plans, the £900 million Aon Minet Pension Scheme, Surrey, England, completed in 2016.
"The trustees were very supportive of Aon's offer to the plan's participants, and we worked closely with the company throughout. The trustees felt that the ETV offer was a logical next step in the Aon Retirement Plan's journey to derisk," said Andy Kieran, chairman of the trustees of the Aon Retirement Plan, in the news release.
