OREANDA-NEWS. Aon Employee Benefits, the UK health and benefits business of Aon plc (NYSE:AON), today launched Bigblue Touch 4life, its fully comprehensive online retirement planning platform for pension scheme members. 

While this service is a standard part of Aon’s Bigblue Touch GPP it is now being offered to retiring members of any scheme. 

Debbie Falvey DC Proposition leader at Aon Employee Benefits said:
“We are seeing many trustees wrestling with the issue of how to offer their members access to the full range of pension freedoms - especially drawdown – but without abandoning them to the retail market. Bigblue Touch 4life is a perfect solution to that problem.” 

Bigblue Touch 4life is an ‘At Retirement’ service which allows members to consolidate all their pensions and financial information onto one online platform through Aon’s proprietary financial aggregation tool, ‘Money’. It includes comprehensive pension modelling tools and education, allowing scheme members to test many possible scenarios for their retirement finances and then transact online and access advice - if they need it.

In addition to support, educational material and modelling tools, Bigblue Touch 4life provides members with:

•    Full access to an annuity broking service for members to compare prices and to select the provider and annuity which best matches their individual requirements from a wide range of providers.
•    Access to a range of investment funds and strategies that have been designed and created for by Aon Hewitt’s global investment team. These funds and strategies are managed for members and changes can be made without the need for individual member consent. This gives members the comfort of the investment oversight to which they are accustomed in trust-based DC schemes but at a low cost which offers excellent value. 
•    Access to a wider selection of carefully researched investment funds if the wish to make more active choices.
•    Access to cash withdrawal and flexible income drawdown.
•    The ability to combine several different options to create a retirement profile specific to each member’s unique needs.

Debbie Falvey said:
“Choosing how and when to make the transition from working life to retirement is immensely challenging and, in the past members have had little flexibility to decide how best to manage their retirement income in a way that suits them. With increased freedoms since April this year, there is now a great deal more choice, but this needs to be supported and guided responsibly. 

“Bigblue Touch 4life helps members make sense of their options. It allows them to make fully informed decisions and to structure their retirement savings in a way that has previously been impossible. 

Debbie Falvey continued:
“When considering the design of Bigblue Touch 4life we wanted to enhance members’ investment options. Traditionally, members wanting to draw down have had to take advice to create their drawdown strategies, and they have often been faced with high retail fund charges. We are now offering a wide range of funds and strategies designed for members by Aon Hewitt’s global investment team. We have combined this with a well-researched fund range for people that wish to make their own investment decisions. 

“Members of Bigblue Touch 4life can self-select from the range of funds but there are also flexible drawdown, target date funds for members who prefer to have these decisions made on their behalf.

“Our own research shows that nearly two-thirds of large pension schemes are actively considering how they can help their members access a drawdown solution, but many schemes are daunted by the potential risks.  We think the risk of not offering members a preferred ‘At Retirement’ solution might be greater than not doing so - and members rightly expect support to help them retire successfully. We believe Bigblue Touch 4life can give trustees, employers and members the confidence they need.”