Aon has launched ‘Run-On Futures’, a service designed to make a run-on strategy both realistic and cost-efficient for the UK’s smaller defined benefit pension schemes.
The service looks to combine scheme actuary, investment, covenant and administration services in a single integrated proposition. It is aimed at the trustees and sponsors of smaller DB schemes who want the option of running-on rather than moving immediately to an insurance-based endgame.
Through this approach, run-on can be for the short- or longer-term and with the aim of sharing any surplus generated, but without incurring the cost and complexity of building a bespoke run-on model from scratch.
John Harvey, senior partner and head of run-on and alternative solutions at Aon, says: “Run-on has become seen as the preserve of the very largest schemes. Aon’s 2026 Endgame Survey found that 47 per cent of schemes above £1bn are planning to run on for a period beyond the point at which they could first buy out with an insurer. By comparison, only 14 per cent of schemes below £100m were considering this.
“Although we recognise that smaller schemes face genuine challenges when contemplating running on, such as limited management time and proportionately higher fixed running costs, we believe this gap reflects more of a perception issue in the market rather than a fundamental barrier.”
Run-On Futures also allows participating schemes to access Aon-managed funds offering the growth strategies that are typically reserved for larger schemes.