Defined BenefitJun 20 2018

Defined benefit pension management service launched

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Defined benefit pension management service launched

Willis Towers Watson has launched a new management service for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, which provides outsourced administration, actuarial, investment and consultancy services.

The service, called OneDB, will allow trustees and sponsors to retain full strategic control of their scheme, the consultancy firm said.

The service will allow economies of scale on investment and risk management, will have a streamlined governance structure, will provide trustees with meeting packs, and will be a technology based solution.

In its DB white paper, the government revealed plans to promote consolidation in the defined benefit pension market, in which two thirds of the 5,600 schemes have funding shortfalls.

Following the publication of the DWP's white paper Alan Rubenstein, former chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund, was the first to act by launching the Pension Superfund, which will accept bulk transfers from final salary plans and consolidate them into one occupational pension scheme.

second consolidator, Clara, is being created and is expected to come to market in the next few months.

According to Gareth Strange, OneDB lead at Willis Towers Watson trustees and corporate sponsors have been “increasingly struggling to cope with the burden of effectively managing their DB schemes”.

He said: “The launch of OneDB enables them to delegate the day-to-day complexities, and focus on the important strategic decision-making process.

“Many trustees are facing increased investment complexity and stronger governance requirements, as well as a sharp increase in transfer value requests, and corporate sponsors are trying to find a solution to the strain of weighty DB legacies on their balance sheets, so we’ve identified the need for a much simpler solution.”

The consultant’s new service will also be providing members with access to online calculations and self-service functionality, Mr Strange said.

He added: “This option has been a growing demand on DB schemes since pension freedom legislation, so this instant, clear information goes a long way to addressing the situation.”

maria.espadinha@ft.com