A company in transition - Pension Actuary WTW Employee Review

4.0
May 8, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Legacy TW had a good reputation among clients for producing high-quality work. I saw high standards for work quality. I also met amazing colleagues. Very quickly, I became proficient in analytical tools. I also learned a tremendous amount about retirement plans (particularly traditional defined benefit pension plans).

Cons

This company is in transition. The truth is that traditional defined benefit pension plans are declining in the US and in many places in the rest of the world. Long-term, most people expect a decline in revenue from the core TW retirement business, in part because legislation and taxation been unkind to pension plans. The retirement practice was siloed from the rest of the company, so it was exceedingly difficult to transition into another line of business. I always thought retirement actuaries were very cliquish and spoke in too much jargon. It probably is an exciting company to work at if you are in health benefits/exchange. Senior management has steered the company in the direction of brokerage services/healthcare, which I think is probably a good decision. They definitely took risk to do this by merging with Willis, which serves mainly small and mid-sized clients in the US (and was highly leveraged). I got the sense when I was there that senior management quietly let attrition occur among mid-level employees in retirement, which given the long-term outlook of the business, is probably the right decision. Just be careful before taking a job in a core business at Willis Towers Watson if it is in a revenue-declining segment. This is true of retirement, but might also be true of other lines such as risk and financial services.

Explore other reviews about WTW

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great low cost benefits, generous pay, remote work and great team environment

Cons

Onboarding is a little slow but once you get a flow, you’ll get up to speed quickly

3.0
Jun 17, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Paycheck is great, people to work with are generally very intelligent, positive and professional. Many positions are work from home or at least hybrid. Continuous learning is encouraged. Since the company is technically British, it is very inclusive and has several networks to ensure inclusion (although some such as the menopause support group are UK based which isn't surprising as the US doesn't typically care about such things though they should).

Cons

The workload is often insane to put it mildly. You are expected to sort of "do everything". When you are encouraged to speak up if you have too much work, they pretty much tell you "well you just have to figure out how to get it done because we have to give you more work". There is blatant favoritism. Those who are liked are praised for giving detailed answers on calls and granted a month off of PTO while those not as well liked get grilled when they ask for one day off and are told "not to overthink" when they try to provide detailed answers.

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