Run-on is the new endgame of choice
In the three years that Brightwell, in partnership with Mallowstreet, have been researching the state of UK defined benefit (DB) endgames, run-on has decisively overtaken buy-out as the dominant endgame for the UK’s largest DB pension schemes. Seven in ten (70%) now target run-on, nearly double the 38% recorded just twelve months ago, while buy-out has collapsed to just 4%.
Brightwell’s DB Endgame reports, based on responses from 21+ UK corporate DB schemes with over £1bn of AUM representing a combined £300bn+ of assets, has over several years shown a fundamental shift in direction for the UK DB landscape.
Read all our DB Endgame reports below:
*Only five schemes have changed their endgame based on our 2026 data, with three of them choosing to run on as a closed scheme.
**‘Other’ endgames include a long-term buy-in and a ‘likely’ buy-out.