Aon has launched a new service aimed at making run-on a more accessible and cost-efficient option for the UK’s smaller defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.
As part of Aon’s Future DB services, which were launched at the beginning of August, Run-On Futures combines 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.
The solution is designed to allow pension funds to run on for the short or longer term and potentially share surplus with sponsors and members, while avoiding the cost and complexity of developing a bespoke model.
Schemes can access Aon-managed investment funds and integrated actuarial, investment, covenant and administration services, with the provider saying its scale will help reduce fixed running costs.
Aon’s 2026 Endgame Survey found that 47% of UK pension funds with more than £1bn in assets are planning to run on beyond the point at which they could first buy out with an insurer, compared with just 14% of schemes below £100m.
John Harvey, senior partner and head of run-on and alternative solutions at Aon, said that smaller schemes faced genuine challenges in considering run-on, including limited management time and proportionately higher fixed running costs, but argued that the gap reflected “more of a perception issue in the market rather than a fundamental barrier”.
Lucy Barron, partner and head of investment endgame at Aon, added: “With Run-On Futures we are giving trustees and sponsors of smaller schemes access to the same rigour, discipline and investment capability that larger schemes have long enjoyed. It’s delivered through an integrated, cost-efficient model that makes run-on a practical and compelling choice.”
