News

Introducing new options and support for your retirement

The options available at retirement to members of DB pension schemes like the MSD Schemes have changed considerably over the past few years. We want you to have flexibility so that you can choose the retirement income that best suits your circumstances from the options available to you in the Scheme.

Making the right decision about your retirement can be a daunting task and we want you to make fully informed choices about how you take your Scheme benefits.

With this in mind, we’re making extra support available to help you decide the best option to meet your needs during retirement.

In brief
- New: a new pension option to consider at retirement
- Enhanced: online tool to help you understand and explore your retirement options
- Enhanced: impartial financial advice on your retirement options at no cost to you

 

New retirement option to consider

We’re making a new retirement option available that you may want to consider. This option is known as a Pension Increase Exchange (or PIE) option.

The PIE option would provide a higher starting pension at your retirement date, in exchange for some (or all) of your future annual pension increases. So, you would receive a higher amount of income when you retire but the annual increases to your pension during retirement would be lower.

The PIE option may appeal if you would like to have a higher income earlier in retirement when you may be more able to enjoy it. On the other hand, you may prefer to keep all your Scheme pension increases, mindful of potential expenses in later life.

Eligibility for the PIE option is based on when you built up your benefits in the Scheme. If you’re eligible for a PIE option, your retirement pack will include it as an option for you to explore. The Aon Retirement Options Modeller “AROM” will also include the PIE option so you can see how it may affect your retirement income.

You will also be able to access financial advice from Origen, the Scheme’s appointed financial advisers.

Further information on AROM and Origen is set out later in this article.

 

Members of the MSD Pension Scheme SP and the Mallinckrodt Section
You are currently able to access the retirement options modeller and the IFA advice. The PIE option at retirement is coming soon (subject to eligibility).

 

Enhanced: Explore your options at retirement

Understanding the various options and choices you have at retirement can be difficult. These include:

•        whether to take a tax-free cash lump sum and, if so, how much;
•        whether you want annual increases on your pension during your retirement; and
•        whether you want full flexibility on how you spend your pension pot during your retirement.

The Aon Retirement Options Model or “AROM” is an online ‘modeller’ tool which enables you to explore your retirement options interactively and see the different potential income they could give you (including the new PIE retirement option as set out above).

Within AROM, you can also adjust certain assumptions, such as future inflation and your life expectancy, to see the potential impact on your income.

AROM will educate and guide you through the various options and help prepare you to make the right choice to best suit your retirement needs. 

 

How do I access AROM?

You’ll receive login details on how to access AROM in your retirement pack.

Your retirement pack from Aon contains your Scheme pension figures and the transfer value available.

These details will automatically be loaded into AROM to enable you to explore your options – which you can do as often as you like.

 

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Enhanced: Financial advice at no cost to you

AROM will help you to understand and explore your options, but it can’t recommend which option you should take. Equally, neither the Trustee nor the Company can advise you on how you should take your Scheme benefits.

To help you make a fully informed decision and following a rigorous selection process, the Trustee has appointed Origen Financial Services Limited (Origen) to provide impartial financial advice on your retirement options.

The Trustee will pay for you to take advice from Origen on the options available to you at retirement – there will be no cost to you.

It is important to use your paid-for advice when you are looking to make a retirement decision.

Any additional advice required from Origen at a later date would be at your own cost.

You’re eligible for one round of paid-for financial advice from Origen if:

•        you haven’t yet retired, and
•        you’re age 55 or over (or you’re over your Normal Minimum Pension age), and
•        you live (or are planning to retire) in the UK.

This is a valuable benefit which we encourage you to use – typically, impartial financial advice can cost several thousand pounds.

If you are not eligible for the paid-for financial advice, you can still get advice from Origen, and we’ve negotiated discounted rates for doing so. You’d need to meet the cost of the advice yourself, but this would be much cheaper than the rates you’d be quoted in the open market.

If you live overseas, Origen can only give you generic guidance about your options.If you are a US citizen, Origen cannot provide you with guidance or advice.

If you’re interested in transferring out of the Scheme, and your transfer value (excluding any Additional Voluntary Contributions) is £30,000 or more, it’s a legal requirement for you to take financial advice before a transfer can proceed. An advice session with Origen will fulfil this legal requirement should you decide to transfer out.

About Origen

Origen’s advisers have been fully trained on the Scheme and the retirement options available to you, so are well-placed to help you make informed decisions.

Origen will provide you with a personal recommendation from an experienced independent 

financial adviser who is an expert on retirement advice.
There is no cost to you and no obligation to follow their recommendation.

For more detail about Origen, visit their website: www.origenfs.co.uk or scan the QR code.

 

Booking an appointment

Full details on how to book an appointment will be included in your retirement pack.

You’ll be able to arrange a call back from Origen directly from AROM, once you’ve explored your retirement options. 

 

Contact point

If you have a query and can't find the answer on the Scheme website, please contact the administrators using the details on the contacts page.

You can also access your PensionLine account via the MyPension page.

 

Other things you need to know

You can request one retirement pack from Aon in any 12-month period free of charge – additional requests incur a charge, which the administrators would confirm to you at the time.

17 April 2026

Tackling climate change has become a key consideration for governments and businesses across the world. For the trustees of pension schemes, this means understanding the associated risks and opportunities of climate change and placing a greater focus on how they invest.

UK regulations require trustees of pension schemes with more than £1bn in assets to meet certain climate governance requirements and publish an annual report on their schemes’ climate-related risks. The MSD Human Health Pension Scheme had over £1bn in assets as at 31 December 2021. The Trustee is therefore required to report on its climate-related risks.

The MSD Animal Health Pension Scheme had less than £1bn in assets as at 31 December 2021 and so it is not in scope for a formal report. However, the Trustee is mindful of the climate related risks when setting the Scheme’s investment strategy.

 

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report for the year ending 31 December 2025 is now available on the documents page.

 

Key findings from the 2025 Climate Disclosures

Climate change is now embedded in governance and decision‑making
The Trustee has an established climate governance and risk‑management framework, integrated into its existing investment and risk processes. This includes regular monitoring, defined roles for the Trustee and its advisers, and annual TCFD reporting (see pages 3–4 of the report).

Clear climate‑related objectives and strategy
The Executive Summary sets out the Trustee’s overall approach to managing climate‑related risks and opportunities and how this is reflected in the Scheme’s investment strategy and manager selection. It also explains how climate considerations are taken into account alongside other funding and investment objectives (see pages 3–5).

Scenario analysis
The report summarises that climate-related scenario analysis has been carried out to assess how different climate pathways could impact the Scheme’s investments and funding position, and to inform strategic decision making (see page 8).

Use of climate metrics and targets

The Trustee monitors portfolio‑level climate metrics, including carbon footprint and emissions measures, and compares them with last year’s figures. The report notes that these metrics have improved over the year. (see pages 10–13).

Progress towards targets

The Trustee recognises that it has limited ability to influence the emissions of the LDI and bulk annuity assets held by the Scheme. As such, the Trustee has set a target to reduce the carbon footprint of our equity investments, where it can focus on having a greater influence. The equity carbon footprint has decreased by 22% p.a. since 31 December 2021, exceeding the Trustee’s target of 7% at the time (see page 13).

Your new, simpler MSD pension website is now live

You can now access our new, improved pension website designed to make it easier and quicker for you to find the information that you need.

The refreshed site offers:

• Easier access – No login details or passcodes needed.
• Streamlined content – Clear, concise information focused on what really matters to you.
• Clearer navigation – Simple menus to help you get straight to the page you need, including your secure MSD pension account.
• A refreshed MSD look – Updated design to make the site more engaging.
• Better on every device – Fully optimised for laptop, tablet and smartphone, so you can use it wherever you are.
• New access to exclusive deals and discounts – Year-round savings on shopping and retail offers through Aon Discounts.

Please explore the new site and see what’s available to you.