Lifestyle Article - Aon appoint new partner in the Retirement team

 Alex Beecraft has advised trustees and corporates on covenant issues for over 10 years, first at PwC and most recently as a managing director at Cardano. In this time, he has supported defined benefit pension schemes of all sizes with strategic covenant advice in scheme funding and transactional and endgame situations, and worked with corporates to develop bespoke capital solutions to manage pensions risks more effectively.

 Prior to this, his experience had also included a secondment to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) where he wrote its guidance on ‘Assessing and Monitoring the Employer Covenant’.

 Michael Clare, head of UK Retirement at Aon, said: “A clear understanding of its sponsor’s covenant is high on any defined benefit pension scheme’s priorities. With strong knowledge of the industry and of the sponsoring business, we can help our clients make better decisions based on the sponsor’s ability to support its scheme.

 “We are therefore very pleased that Alex Beecraft is joining us to lead our covenant team. He brings high-quality experience, not least from his time at TPR, which will help us to provide integrated advice and solutions to our clients at a time of significant change in the pensions landscape.”

 Alex Beecraft, partner and head of the employer covenant practice at Aon, said: “The role of covenant in defined benefit pensions has changed markedly over the last decade, but it remains as relevant as ever to trustees and sponsors navigating new forms of volatility, regulatory change and significant decisions in relation to their endgame.

 “I am joining a high-calibre team at Aon and I look forward to working with them to bring best-in-class advice to our clients.”