Many defined benefit plans’ funded statuses are in relatively good territory, but with an uncertain investment atmosphere on the horizon, is now a good time for plans to consider taking risk off the table by purchasing an annuity? And for plans looking to de-risk in the future, what are the considerations from an investment perspective? […]
As Air Canada seeks approval from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to form its own life insurance company, bringing it one step closer to the annuities market, will this move become a trend for large organizations with looming pension payouts? In an email to Benefits Canada, a spokesperson from the airline said the move is […]
The Weyerhaeuser Co. is putting in action a number of steps to reduce its U.S. defined benefit pension liabilities while maintaining the plan’s current funded status. First, the Seattle-based timberland company will offer select plan members the opportunity to take an immediate lump-sum distribution, which will be paid from plan assets during the fourth quarter of […]
Canadian group annuity sales reached an estimated $1 billion in the first quarter of 2018, according to Willis Towers Watson’s quarterly update. The significant volume of activity is largely due to a single large transaction. Recently, Alcoa Corp. completed an annuity buyout worth more than $700 million for about 2,100 pension plan members across Canada. […]
With annuities largely comprised of fixed-income investments, can the sponsors of pension plans gain an advantage by replicating such a portfolio on their own with a focus on private debt? During a presentation for plan sponsors in Toronto on Thursday, Michael Augustine, a managing director at TD Asset Management Inc., touted the option of reducing […]
As of July 1, 2018, new provisions under Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act will allow the sponsors of defined benefit pension plans to obtain a discharge from their obligations to former and retired plan members for whom they’ve purchased an annuity. Under the changes, plan sponsors will need to fulfil certain requirements before they can obtain a […]
Alcoa Corp. has entered into a deal with three large insurance companies to transfer more than $700 million in pension obligations related to its defined benefit plans in Canada. The three insurance companies, Sun Life Financial, Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Co. and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., will begin making benefit payments to […]
The market for transferring pension risk could total up to $10 billion over the next three years, according to a new report from Eckler Ltd. In fact, some estimates see risk transfers over that time frame reaching $15 billion, the report, based on interviews with insurers active in the pension annuity market, noted. According to the […]
Brookfield Asset Management has launched a wholly-owned subsidiary called Brookfield Annuity Co., the first company in Canada to specialize in providing group annuity solutions for de-risking defined benefit pension plans. Compared to global annuity markets, particularly Britain, Canada has been a bit slower to follow this trend, according to Paul Forestell, president and chief executive […]
Global retailer Kingfisher Group has agreed a £230-million medically underwritten buy-in for its defined benefit pension plan. The transaction, which covers 149 specific plan members from the company’s £3-billion pension, was completed by Legal and General, and advised by Aon Hewitt and Hymans Robertson. It is the largest medically underwritten bulk annuity arrangement to date in Britain. Read: Sun Life completes […]