Sponsored By: Why De-Risk? Many DB plan sponsors have decided that their defined benefit obligations are unsustainable. As a result they are looking for approaches to opportunistically reduce risk over a time horizon appropriate for their financial constraints and workforce arrangements. Each DB plan sponsor will have a very specific set of plan provisions, financial […]
It was a difficult few months in the second quarter of 2012 for Canadian pension plans, according to reports released today by both Mercer and Towers Watson. Mercer’s Pension Health Index stands at 77% as of June 30, down 5% over the quarter. And Towers Watson’s DB Pension Index fell 1.4%.
With interest rates stuck at historic lows, we’re at a point where the “annuities are expensive” mantra is conventional wisdom and rarely questioned. The purpose of this article is to explore this notion and quantify what “expensive” really means.
U.K. plan sponsors have been on the de-risking journey for many years, with the majority of U.K. DB plans having now completed, or at least considered, some form of de-risking.
The Canadian pension risk transfer market reached record-breaking demand in 2024 with $11 billion in deals at the end of the year, eclipsing the $7.8 billion combined total of annuities transactions in 2023 and 2022. Indeed, the fourth quarter of 2024 alone saw $5.2 billion of overall transactions, split between $1.5 billion in buy-ins and […]
Risk management continues to be one of the hottest topics in the pension industry for a number of reasons, including the uncertainty caused by the current geopolitical and economic climate and the September 2024 release of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ new guideline for risk management for plan administrators. While pension plan administrators […]
The pension risk transfer market achieved a record-breaking demand with $11 billion in deals at the end of 2024, according to a new report from Telus Health. The year-end total from 2024 eclipsed the $7.8 billion total worth of annuities transaction volume seen in 2023 and 2022. The fourth quarter saw $5.2 billion worth of […]
U.S. pension risk transfer sales reached US$14.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a 130 per cent increase from the same period in 2023, according to a report by LIMRA. Single-premium buy-out sales totalled $14.2 billion in the first quarter, up 124 per cent from this period in 2023. There were 146 contracts sold […]
U.S. pension risk transfer sales increased by 39 per cent during the third quarter of 2023, according to a report by LIMRA. It found single premium buyout sales were US$8.1 billion, 69 per cent lower than this time last year. Year-to-date, buyout sales fell 30 per cent to $28.9 billion compared to 2022. There were […]
Canada’s pension de-risking market saw a record-breaking year in 2022, with $7.8 billion in transferred liabilities and 155 transactions, according to a new report by Eckler Ltd. Mary Kate Archibald, pension principal at the consultancy, says the increase in the total sum for the year wasn’t a surprise due to the interest rate environment. To […]