LONDON, 7 July 2025 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, today released the results of its annual Member Options and Support market insights report, which includes a survey of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes and the firm’s second annual Bulk Annuity Insurer Survey on member experience.
Covering the views of over 250 DB schemes and the 10 UK bulk annuity insurers in the market at the time of the survey, the results highlight a growing focus on enhancing the retirement journey for members, with schemes and insurers increasingly providing digital tools, financial advice and benefit flexibility.
The findings include:
- Over 50 percent of schemes now offer members additional retirement support beyond the statutory minimum.
- 30 percent of schemes now offer Pension Increase Exchange (PIE) and Bridging Pension Options (BPO) at retirement. There is strong member uptake, 36 percent and 55 percent of eligible members respectively, choosing these options when they are made available.
- 26 percent of schemes make independent financial adviser (IFA) support available to members at retirement, with more planning to offer it in 2026.
Tom Williams, partner at Aon, said:
“For many pension scheme members, their decisions at retirement are the most financially significant they will make in their life, so it’s encouraging to see that trustees and sponsors are offering them increasing support.
“Since 2019, we have observed an increasing trend of pension schemes adding additional retirement information and support, from personalised transfer value figures in retirement packs, to IFA support and access to educational tools. In both 2024 and 2025 over half of the schemes surveyed went beyond providing the statutory minimums, with even more planning to offer support in the near future. All this helps members make the right decisions for their personal circumstances at retirement.”
Tom Williams continued:
“With members transferring out of schemes at an historic low, in-scheme options are providing much needed opportunities for them to reshape their benefits within the pension scheme. It’s clear from the number that are choosing these options that the flexibilities are really valued. It’s also not surprising that more choice is often accompanied by more support being made available to members to help them with their decisions.
“With the backdrop of cost-of-living issues and an increasing State Pension Age, BPOs in particular are providing a way for members to be able to afford to retire before State Pension Age, as well as giving them the chance to take a greater amount of their benefit as tax-free cash.”
Bulk Annuity Insurer Survey
To supplement the findings of the Member Options and Support survey, all 10 of the UK DB pension scheme insurers that were in the market at the start of the year, were asked to confirm how they support members at retirement. The findings reveal that as the number of schemes offering additional member options and support increases, so too does the appetite for insurers to keep these options and support in place post-transaction.
Key findings include:
- The majority of insurers would quote to offer BPO at retirement for transactions of any size (with all willing to offer BPO at retirement on transactions over £750 million).
- There are opportunities to retain PIE at retirement but with a smaller pool of insurers (five out of 10 insurers for transactions over £750 million).
- All but one of the 10 insurers said they would offer a self-service administration portal to policyholders by the end of 2026, with a smaller but growing number of insurers being able to offer members access to sophisticated retirement modellers or IFA support.
Tom Williams continued:
"We’re seeing a real shift from insurers. Bulk annuity providers have not typically provided IFA support or educational modellers after buyout. It’s encouraging to see them reacting to the demand from schemes to be able to maintain the member experience after a transaction has taken place. Trustees and sponsors have an important role to play in continuing to drive that change. Engaging early on in the process with insurers can demonstrate the importance they place on member options and support and ensure that this member-first approach continues beyond buyout.
“Looking ahead, we see three big factors that may influence member experience over the coming years: increased digital access to pensions, pension dashboards and continued economic uncertainty. We will continue to track how the market accommodates and adjusts to these significant changes.”
The full survey results are available here: LINK.
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses.
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