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Retirement Benefits
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2025
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Benefits

Note 12 — Retirement Benefits

Defined Benefit Plans

WTW sponsors both qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans throughout the world. The majority of our plan assets and obligations are in the U.S. and the U.K. We have also included disclosures related to defined benefit plans in certain other countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland. Together, these disclosed funded and unfunded plans represent 98% of WTW’s pension obligations and are disclosed herein.

Components of Net Periodic Benefit (Income)/Cost for Defined Benefit Pension Plans

The following tables set forth the components of net periodic benefit (income)/cost for the Company’s defined benefit pension plans for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended September 30,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

 

U.S.

 

 

U.K.

 

 

Other

 

 

U.S.

 

 

U.K.

 

 

Other

 

Service cost

 

$

10

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

3

 

 

$

11

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

4

 

Interest cost

 

 

32

 

 

 

31

 

 

 

7

 

 

 

49

 

 

 

29

 

 

 

7

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(51

)

 

 

(44

)

 

 

(12

)

 

 

(76

)

 

 

(40

)

 

 

(11

)

Settlements

 

 

1

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Amortization of net loss

 

 

7

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

—

 

Amortization of prior service credit

 

 

—

 

 

 

(2

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

(3

)

 

 

1

 

Net periodic benefit cost/(income)

 

$

(1

)

 

$

2

 

 

$

(1

)

 

$

(7

)

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

 

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended September 30,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

 

U.S.

 

 

U.K.

 

 

Other

 

 

U.S.

 

 

U.K.

 

 

Other

 

Service cost

 

$

30

 

 

$

4

 

 

$

10

 

 

$

32

 

 

$

4

 

 

$

12

 

Interest cost

 

 

100

 

 

 

91

 

 

 

20

 

 

 

147

 

 

 

86

 

 

 

20

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(157

)

 

 

(131

)

 

 

(34

)

 

 

(227

)

 

 

(119

)

 

 

(32

)

Settlements

 

 

83

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Amortization of net loss

 

 

23

 

 

 

47

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

27

 

 

 

41

 

 

 

1

 

Amortization of prior service credit

 

 

—

 

 

 

(4

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

(9

)

 

 

1

 

Net periodic benefit (income)/cost

 

$

79

 

 

$

10

 

 

$

(3

)

 

$

(21

)

 

$

3

 

 

$

2

 

 

Employer Contributions to Defined Benefit Pension Plans

The Company did not make any contributions to its U.S. plans during the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and currently does not anticipate making contributions over the remainder of the fiscal year. The Company made contributions of $1 million to its U.K. plans for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and anticipates making additional contributions of $1 million for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Company made contributions of $6 million to its other plans for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and anticipates making additional contributions of less than $1 million for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Annuity Purchase

In February 2025, the Company’s Willis Towers Watson Pension Plan for U.S. Employees, a qualified pension plan (‘the Plan’), purchased a nonparticipating single premium group annuity contract from a third-party insurance company and irrevocably transferred to that insurance company approximately $423 million of the Plan’s defined benefit pension obligations and related plan assets, thereby reducing the pension obligations and assets of the Plan by this same amount. The group annuity contract was purchased using assets of the Plan and no additional funding contribution was required by the Company. As a result of this transaction, WTW recognized a one-time, non-cash pre-tax pension settlement charge of $82 million in the first quarter of 2025, attributable to the accelerated recognition of accumulated actuarial losses of the Plan.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company had defined contribution plan expense of $39 million and $120 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, respectively, and $43 million and $128 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively.