Willis Group Pension Scheme

Willis Group Pension Scheme

The Willis Group Pension Scheme is the legacy corporate pension plan for UK-based employees of Willis Towers Watson (now WTW) and its predecessor entities. As a mature defined-benefit scheme, its primary obligation is meeting pension promises to a closed population of retired and deferred members. The scheme is sponsored by Willis Limited, with Willis Pension Trustees Limited serving as the corporate trustee responsible for governance and investment oversight. The scheme's investment strategy reflects a liability-driven de-risking path typical of mature UK pension funds. Its known holdings include a UK-focused mixed-use property vehicle. The scheme also employs a longevity hedge arranged with Munich Re, covering its exposure to members living longer than actuarial assumptions — a transaction likely structured through a Guernsey-based captive. An alternative credit allocation rounds out a portfolio concentrated on cashflow-generating assets that match liability duration. The scheme's governance sits with the corporate trustee, which delegates day-to-day investment management to external fund managers and consultants. While team size and precise deployment figures are not publicly disclosed, the presence of a longevity hedge and dedicated property and credit funds suggests assets in the hundreds of millions to low billions of pounds, consistent with a closed plan of a large financial-services employer. The scheme operates solely from its London base. The structural distinctiveness of the Willis plan lies in its progression toward an insured end-state. The Munich Re longevity swap transfers systematic mortality risk outside the scheme, a step that reduces volatility and typically precedes a full buy-in or buyout. For institutional peers, the Willis scheme illustrates how a large corporate plan navigates the final stages of de-risking without yet passing liabilities to an insurer permanently.