Mercer adds Aegon to workplace savings panel

Mercer has added Aegon UK to its workplace savings panel.

The Mercer Workplace Savings (MWS) panel, which launched in the UK in 2011, already includes Friends Life and Zurich.

The MWS panel allows organisations to select the investment and savings products and services they provide to employees. The range covers trust and contract-based pension schemes, independent savings accounts and direct investments into collective investment vehicles so that employers can choose to expand their offering beyond pensions to wider savings provision.

Fiona Dunsire (pictured), UK chief executive officer at Mercer, said: “We chose Aegon on the basis of the range and quality of its products, its commitment to the UK pensions market, its financial strength and its ongoing investment in technology to help [defined contribution pension] members navigate their journey to and through retirement.

“The partnership with Aegon will support the future development of MWS in the light of major changes to the pensions market. We are very pleased to have it working with us to help improve the retirement prospects of the UK’s employees.”

Angela-Seymour Jackson, managing director of Workplace Solutions at Aegon UK, added: “We’re delighted to be joining Mercer Workplace Savings as a preferred partner. It was an extremely rigorous assessment process so it’s fantastic to see our workplace proposition, including Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC), make the extremely high standard they demand for its customers.

“Mercer is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious consultancies and our strategies are very similar as we’re both focused on delivering a great service to employers and better retirements for employees. MWS has already been highly successful and we look forward to playing a significant role in this partnership going forward.”