LONDON, 16 October 2026 - Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, announced that a new survey of UK pension schemes’ usage of artificial intelligence (AI), has found that three-quarters of respondents report some use by trustees.
The survey covered 61 UK defined benefit schemes, ranging in size from under 1,000 members to over 20,000, and asked about their adoption and usage of AI across governance and trustee duties, as well as their awareness of its use among advisers and suppliers.
Key findings included:
- 76% of respondents reported some use by trustees, with 65% having discussed AI opportunities. However, only 18% have recorded potential opportunities.
- No respondents reported a documented roadmap balancing the benefits, risks and controls of AI use, while 53% reported that trustees had received no AI training.
- 61% reported that they do not know how their advisers use AI.
- Nearly three quarters (73%) carry out no specific assessment of provider AI governance and 94% have no AI-specific requirements in their contracts.
- While 86% of respondents reported that they do not offer any AI tools to their members, 94% believe that their members are using AI to get answers to questions about their pension benefits.
Paul McGlone, Partner, Aon, said:
“This survey provides a timely snapshot of usage and understanding of AI among defined benefit schemes. It makes it clear that pension schemes are already working with AI, whether through trustees, advisers or wider member behaviour. It’s no surprise that it appears to be the larger schemes that are leading the way.
“But it’s also apparent that AI’s use is relatively ad hoc and wider knowledge of its usage is limited. While trustees are already making use of it for their own purposes, there would appear to be questions over how much understanding and visibility they have of its use by the advisers and suppliers they work with and who provide services to their scheme.”
Paul McGlone continued: “We know that the Pensions Regulator is due to issue guidance on this area very soon and I’m sure that this will provide a constructive framework for schemes to follow. The priority should not be to stop useful innovation, but to make it visible, controlled and accountable. Trustees should start with the basics - they need to understand where AI touches the scheme, that their data is protected, that they have challenged providers on their usage and also made sure that it’s still a human who is responsible for decisions and member outcomes.”
ENDS
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