LONDON, 30 May 2006 – The fate of the nation’s retirement wealth could soon be dependent on the continued popularity of celebrities like Madonna, Bono and Beckham, as almost 1 in 3 (29%) people in the UK consider investment in celebrity memorabilia to fund their retirement.

With many UK employees no longer having faith that their pension will provide them with an adequate level of income in retirement, new research  out today from Aon Consulting, a leading pension, benefits and HR consulting firm, shows that 70% of people in the UK are now prepared to consider alternative pension investment options.

The research, which surveyed 1,680 adults in full or part time employment, highlighted that whilst investing in property (58%) and shares (50%) are two of the most popular supplementary investment options, many UK employees are also looking to keep up with the Jones’s by investing in art and antiques (38%), an evergreen forest (34%), a classic car (34%), wine or whisky (31%) or celebrity memorabilia (29%). These figures do not add up to 100% as respondents were able to give multiple answers.

Commenting on these results, Ian Dearnley, client relationship director of Aon Consulting, said: “It’s great that employees are thinking about alternative ways to fund their retirement as a diverse investment portfolio can help to minimise the risk of poor returns. However, the average UK investor should be wary of directing too many funds towards the latest investment craze of buying signed photos of today’s hottest celebrity, or relying on a dusty bottle of Bordeaux to appreciate in value, without initially seeking proper investment advice.”

Mr Dearnley added: “It is important that investors also take the time to understand how their occupational pension scheme is invested.  This way they can avoid the risk of double exposure by choosing not to put money into the same investment vehicles that their pension fund is already investing in, such as the more traditional property or share options.”

Rod Mitchell, chief executive officer of Aon Private Clients, the specialist broker providing insurance services for owners of high value assets, commented: “It’s traditionally been the asset rich, cash poor ‘old money’ who have invested in fine art or wine for a comfortable retirement but these high value assets are increasingly being bought by middle class city workers or those ploughing money into their classic car hobby. Indeed, by investing in your passion - whilst ensuring you have sufficient alternative funds for your pension - you can continue to enjoy your new buy whether or not it appreciates in value.”

Mr Mitchell continued: “If you’re counting on your Tracey Emin artwork as a long term investment, you need to protect your asset more than ever by having it revalued by an art expert on a regular basis to check you have adequate insurance cover.  Therefore, in the event of accidental damage, fire or theft for example, you should be able to claim for its agreed value. This simple step is crucial to ensure your pension doesn’t go up in smoke.”

The research also highlighted a number of regional variations, including:

• Welsh and south west investors were the most adventurous when it came to considering alternative investments, in comparison to the most cautious investors in the south east, with 45% / 34% prepared to consider art and antiques and 34% / 26% thinking about celebrity memorabilia, respectively.

• Property investments and shares were most popular in Scotland with 63% and 55% considering them.

• Classic cars was a favoured choice in the home of the motor industry, the Midlands, but most popular in Wales and the south west with 35% and 37% prepared to consider this investment option, respectively.

Notes to Editors

About the research

ICM Research interviewed a random selection of 1680 workers aged 18+ by telephone between 1-9 March 2006.  Interviews were conducted across the country and the results represent a cross section of all adults in the UK.  

The research programme was managed by David Burton Associates, an independent research company: www.davidburtonassociates.com.

Case studies are available on request from the Aon Press Office.

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About Aon Consulting

Aon Consulting is a leading human capital consultancy, helping organisations of every size to attract and keep the employees they need. We advise on all aspects of employment, including health-related insurance and risk; employee compensation and pensions; human resource strategy planning; job design and change management; and staff assessment and legal issues. Aon Consulting is a division of Aon, one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers and providers of risk management services and a major force in reinsurance and the UK human capital consulting market.  Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

About Aon Private Clients

Aon Private Clients is a specialist broker dedicated to providing insurance services for owners of high value assets and valuables such as homes, prestige and sports cars, works of art, antiques and other collections, as well as owners of country houses, estates and farms. The team also arranges add-on covers to suit the lifestyle needs of clients, including sports professionals.

About Aon

Aon Corporation  is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. There are 46,000 employees working in Aon's 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.

This press release contains certain statements related to future results, or states our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the future which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from either historical or anticipated results depending on a variety of factors. Potential factors that could impact results include: general economic conditions in different countries in which we do business around the world, changes in global equity and fixed income markets that could affect the return on invested assets, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates that could influence revenue and expense, rating agency actions that could affect our ability to borrow funds, funding of our various pension plans, changes in the competitive environment, our ability to implement restructuring initiatives and other initiatives intended to yield cost savings, our ability to execute the stock repurchase program, changes in commercial property and casualty markets and commercial premium rates that could impact revenues, changes in revenues and earnings due to the elimination of contingent commissions, other uncertainties surrounding a new compensation model, the impact of investigations brought by state attorneys general, state insurance regulators, federal prosecutors, and federal regulators, the impact of class actions and individual lawsuits including client class actions, securities class actions, derivative actions, and ERISA class actions, the cost of resolution of other contingent liabilities and loss contingencies, and the difference in ultimate paid claims in our underwriting companies from actuarial estimates.  Further information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company’s financial results, is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.