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The Willis Pension Scheme
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Alternatives to Membership
 
 
All Scheme members are required to contribute at the rate of 10 per cent of Pensionable Salary. However it is important to recognise that on joining the Scheme the cost is reduced by tax relief on your contributions and because of the lower National Insurance contributions payable.
 
A further alternative to membership is to pay for your own pension entirely by yourself using a Personal Pension Plan.
  • The Group will not contribute towards your Personal Pension.
  • You will pay higher National Insurance contributions than as a member of the Pension Scheme.
  • You will lose the valuable death-in-service benefits that are provided for members of the Pension Scheme. 
  • The benefits from the pension will be based on the "money purchase" principle and not on the service and final salary formula used by the Pension Scheme. Broadly, this means that the pension provided depends on the contributions paid in, the investment returns achieved on those contributions and the cost of buying a pension when you retire. The only factor that would be under your control would be the contributions paid in. Everything else would be uncertain.
  • You will have to meet all of the administration and investment charges for the Personal Pension plan yourself. For the Pension Scheme these costs are met by the Group.
  • If you decide not to join or remain a member of the Pension Scheme you will be asked to sign a disclaimer form to confirm that you absolve the Trustees from any further responsibility to provide benefits for you, your spouse and your dependants. In view of the valuable death benefits being given up, your spouse will also be asked to sign this form.
Following a change in legislation, it is now possible to be a member of the Willis Pension Scheme and be a member of pension arrangements outside of Willis Towers Watson concurrently. There is no limit on the amount of pension arrangements to which you can be a member
 
If you decide not to remain a member of the Willis Pension Scheme you will be asked to sign a disclaimer form to confirm that you absolve the Trustees from any further responsibility to provide benefits for you, your spouse and your dependants. In view of the valuable death benefits being given up, your spouse will also be asked to sign this form. Please contact the Pensions team in Ipswich if you required further information pensions@willistowerswatson.com​