diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregationPhase.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregationPhase.java
index 75ef3c9199a..4c614626d1d 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregationPhase.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregationPhase.java
@@ -133,22 +133,18 @@ public class AggregationPhase implements SearchPhase {
             }
         }
         context.queryResult().aggregations(new InternalAggregations(aggregations));
-        try {
-            List<PipelineAggregator> pipelineAggregators = context.aggregations().factories().createPipelineAggregators();
-            List<SiblingPipelineAggregator> siblingPipelineAggregators = new ArrayList<>(pipelineAggregators.size());
-            for (PipelineAggregator pipelineAggregator : pipelineAggregators) {
-                if (pipelineAggregator instanceof SiblingPipelineAggregator) {
-                    siblingPipelineAggregators.add((SiblingPipelineAggregator) pipelineAggregator);
-                } else {
-                    throw new AggregationExecutionException("Invalid pipeline aggregation named [" + pipelineAggregator.name()
-                            + "] of type [" + pipelineAggregator.getWriteableName() + "]. Only sibling pipeline aggregations are "
-                            + "allowed at the top level");
-                }
+        List<PipelineAggregator> pipelineAggregators = context.aggregations().factories().createPipelineAggregators();
+        List<SiblingPipelineAggregator> siblingPipelineAggregators = new ArrayList<>(pipelineAggregators.size());
+        for (PipelineAggregator pipelineAggregator : pipelineAggregators) {
+            if (pipelineAggregator instanceof SiblingPipelineAggregator) {
+                siblingPipelineAggregators.add((SiblingPipelineAggregator) pipelineAggregator);
+            } else {
+                throw new AggregationExecutionException("Invalid pipeline aggregation named [" + pipelineAggregator.name()
+                    + "] of type [" + pipelineAggregator.getWriteableName() + "]. Only sibling pipeline aggregations are "
+                    + "allowed at the top level");
             }
-            context.queryResult().pipelineAggregators(siblingPipelineAggregators);
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            throw new AggregationExecutionException("Failed to build top level pipeline aggregators", e);
         }
+        context.queryResult().pipelineAggregators(siblingPipelineAggregators);
 
         // disable aggregations so that they don't run on next pages in case of scrolling
         context.aggregations(null);
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregatorFactories.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregatorFactories.java
index 9683651391c..5c1120452f6 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregatorFactories.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/AggregatorFactories.java
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ public class AggregatorFactories {
         this.pipelineAggregatorFactories = pipelineAggregators;
     }
 
-    public List<PipelineAggregator> createPipelineAggregators() throws IOException {
+    public List<PipelineAggregator> createPipelineAggregators() {
         List<PipelineAggregator> pipelineAggregators = new ArrayList<>(this.pipelineAggregatorFactories.size());
         for (PipelineAggregationBuilder factory : this.pipelineAggregatorFactories) {
             pipelineAggregators.add(factory.create());
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/PipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/PipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 8b66738848f..08938a5b9b9 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/PipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/PipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.ToXContentFragment;
 import org.elasticsearch.search.aggregations.AggregatorFactories.Builder;
 import org.elasticsearch.search.aggregations.pipeline.PipelineAggregator;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -76,7 +75,7 @@ public abstract class PipelineAggregationBuilder implements NamedWriteable, Base
      *
      * @return The created aggregator
      */
-    protected abstract PipelineAggregator create() throws IOException;
+    protected abstract PipelineAggregator create();
 
     /** Associate metadata with this {@link PipelineAggregationBuilder}. */
     @Override
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AbstractPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AbstractPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 409f5201035..8a278ead95a 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AbstractPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AbstractPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractPipelineAggregationBuilder<PAB extends AbstractPip
         doValidate(parent, factories, pipelineAggregatorFactories);
     }
 
-    protected abstract PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException;
+    protected abstract PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData);
 
     /**
      * Creates the pipeline aggregator
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractPipelineAggregationBuilder<PAB extends AbstractPip
      * @return The created aggregator
      */
     @Override
-    public final PipelineAggregator create() throws IOException {
+    public final PipelineAggregator create() {
         PipelineAggregator aggregator = createInternal(this.metaData);
         return aggregator;
     }
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AvgBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AvgBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 10b99bb48fb..1495c691c83 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AvgBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/AvgBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public class AvgBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder extends BucketMetricsPipelineAg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new AvgBucketPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketMetricsPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketMetricsPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 27da9dea530..eddc48c6fdc 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketMetricsPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketMetricsPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ public abstract class BucketMetricsPipelineAggregationBuilder<AF extends BucketM
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected abstract PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException;
+    protected abstract PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData);
 
     @Override
     public void doValidate(AggregatorFactory<?> parent, Collection<AggregationBuilder> aggBuilders,
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketScriptPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketScriptPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index db56779559a..c8ea3553752 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketScriptPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketScriptPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ public class BucketScriptPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAggr
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new BucketScriptPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPathsMap, script, formatter(), gapPolicy, metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSelectorPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSelectorPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index f0497932b21..a6627be1cfe 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSelectorPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSelectorPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ public class BucketSelectorPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new BucketSelectorPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPathsMap, script, gapPolicy, metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSortPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSortPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 0ce4c087206..4dcd42934fc 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSortPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/BucketSortPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ public class BucketSortPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAggreg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new BucketSortPipelineAggregator(name, sorts, from, size, gapPolicy, metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/CumulativeSumPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/CumulativeSumPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 207b1e35bef..a8b51d9c1a5 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/CumulativeSumPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/CumulativeSumPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ public class CumulativeSumPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAgg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new CumulativeSumPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/DerivativePipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/DerivativePipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 68ec9085df5..25f30bc8343 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/DerivativePipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/DerivativePipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ public class DerivativePipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAggreg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         DocValueFormat formatter;
         if (format != null) {
             formatter = new DocValueFormat.Decimal(format);
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/ExtendedStatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/ExtendedStatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 10347e40354..3d16cf91ee0 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/ExtendedStatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/ExtendedStatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public class ExtendedStatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new ExtendedStatsBucketPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, sigma, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MaxBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MaxBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 852a3e378d0..b335c15865d 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MaxBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MaxBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public class MaxBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder extends BucketMetricsPipelineAg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new MaxBucketPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MinBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MinBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index b44ee869e2c..405285993c0 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MinBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MinBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public class MinBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder extends BucketMetricsPipelineAg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new MinBucketPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovAvgPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovAvgPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 02fa9795633..4a552f47d53 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovAvgPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovAvgPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ public class MovAvgPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAggregatio
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         // If the user doesn't set a preference for cost minimization, ask
         // what the model prefers
         boolean minimize = this.minimize == null ? model.minimizeByDefault() : this.minimize;
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovFnPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovFnPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 998f6e387a8..3f589d8a089 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovFnPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/MovFnPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ public class MovFnPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAggregation
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new MovFnPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPathString, script, window, formatter(), gapPolicy, metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/PercentilesBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/PercentilesBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index a3ac2201777..31848d21591 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/PercentilesBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/PercentilesBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ public class PercentilesBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new PercentilesBucketPipelineAggregator(name, percents, keyed, bucketsPaths, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SerialDiffPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SerialDiffPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index f634493749d..019026740f8 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SerialDiffPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SerialDiffPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ public class SerialDiffPipelineAggregationBuilder extends AbstractPipelineAggreg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new SerialDiffPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, formatter(), gapPolicy, lag, metaData);
     }
     
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/StatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/StatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index f943f3318fc..904cc16c290 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/StatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/StatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ public class StatsBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder extends BucketMetricsPipeline
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new StatsBucketPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SumBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SumBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
index 920f7e9b0ac..eb075d43689 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SumBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/SumBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public class SumBucketPipelineAggregationBuilder extends BucketMetricsPipelineAg
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+    protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
         return new SumBucketPipelineAggregator(name, bucketsPaths, gapPolicy(), formatter(), metaData);
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java
index 2a54cda752a..3594022e223 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ public class SearchModuleTests extends ESTestCase {
         }
 
         @Override
-        protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) throws IOException {
+        protected PipelineAggregator createInternal(Map<String, Object> metaData) {
             return null;
         }
 
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/InternalAggregationsTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/InternalAggregationsTests.java
index 3212c18cf27..45107fa4a19 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/InternalAggregationsTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/InternalAggregationsTests.java
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ public class InternalAggregationsTests extends ESTestCase {
         assertNull(InternalAggregations.reduce(aggs, Collections.emptyList(), reduceContext));
     }
 
-    public void testNonFinalReduceTopLevelPipelineAggs() throws IOException  {
+    public void testNonFinalReduceTopLevelPipelineAggs()  {
         InternalAggregation terms = new StringTerms("name", BucketOrder.key(true),
             10, 1, Collections.emptyList(), Collections.emptyMap(), DocValueFormat.RAW, 25, false, 10, Collections.emptyList(), 0);
         List<InternalAggregations> aggs = Collections.singletonList(new InternalAggregations(Collections.singletonList(terms)));
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ public class InternalAggregationsTests extends ESTestCase {
         assertEquals(1, reducedAggs.aggregations.size());
     }
 
-    public void testFinalReduceTopLevelPipelineAggs() throws IOException  {
+    public void testFinalReduceTopLevelPipelineAggs()  {
         InternalAggregation terms = new StringTerms("name", BucketOrder.key(true),
             10, 1, Collections.emptyList(), Collections.emptyMap(), DocValueFormat.RAW, 25, false, 10, Collections.emptyList(), 0);