LONDON, 6 August 2026 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has announced that it intends to introduce a whole-life multi-employer Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) section, beginning in 2028, to sit alongside defined contribution (DC) benefits within The Aon MasterTrust. The section is subject to regulatory approval.
With the CDC section's introduction, employers will have the opportunity to:
- Default their employees' contributions into a whole-life CDC section within The Aon MasterTrust that will help them to build up an income for life in retirement which is expected to keep pace with the cost of living – and without them needing to make complex decisions at retirement.
- Default employees into a DC section, where they can benefit from the market-leading performance of Aon's default fund as they accumulate their pension savings individually.
- Offer their employees a combination of both – which would include giving them the valuable opportunity to make a selection based on their own preferences, including paying in additional voluntary contributions to either or both sections from time-to-time.
Michael Clare, Head of EMEA Wealth Solutions for Aon, said:
"Aon was involved throughout the process that brought this new type of pension scheme into existence, so we are particularly excited to announce our intention to launch a whole-life CDC section within The Aon MasterTrust. CDC is an innovation that helps address the evolving needs of our clients and their employees. Offered alongside DC, it ensures we are introducing CDC in a way that caters effectively for the differing needs of our individual clients and their workforces.
"As we also continue to explore the future introduction of Retirement CDC within The Aon MasterTrust, we eagerly await the initial draft Retirement CDC regulations which are expected this autumn."
Chintan Gandhi, Partner and Head of Collective DC for Aon, said:
"Whole-life CDC pensions provide a powerful tool to attract, reward, retain and retire employees on time, and which strengthens the employee value proposition in competitive labour markets. We believe that CDC could revolutionise pensions in the UK, creating value for both employees and employers.
"We are now looking to continue our engagement with a wide range of employers, sectors and unions in the UK, including seeking feedback to help shape our plans for CDC."
Jo Sharples, Chief Investment Officer, DC Solutions, UK, for Aon, said:
"Collective investment and long-term horizons allow CDC schemes to stay meaningfully invested in growth assets, including private markets, all the way up to and through retirement. CDC schemes can therefore invest more productively and support responsible, sustainable outcomes – helping to deliver the kind of world current and future generations want to retire into.
"We are proud of The Aon MasterTrust's decade-long performance track record – it was top in Corporate Adviser's 2026 assessment of default funds' performance over the past 10 years and has delivered great returns to its members. We are excited to bring this experience and Aon's wider resource and deep research capabilities to the benefit of even more pension savers, as we unlock a wider set of investment opportunities through our whole-life multi-employer CDC section."
Read more about CDC schemes in our recent publication, CDC Pensions - Everything You Need to Know in 2026.
ENDS
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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