The market volume of annuity purchases by Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors reached an estimated $2.5 billion in the second quarter of 2024, compared to $1.1 billion in the previous quarter, according to a new report by Telus Health. While plan sponsors that are poised for upcoming transactions have an advantageous position, insurers are […]
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 […]
The estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process increased from 100.3 per cent of a plan’s accounting liabilities in March to 100.9 per cent in April, according to Milliman Inc.’s latest pension buyout index. The index uses the FTSE above median AA curve and annuity purchase composite […]
The total premium of U.S. pension risk transfer sales reached US$12.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 53 per cent increase from the same period in 2022, according to a report by LIMRA. It found that pension risk transfer sales totalled $45.8 billion in 2023, down 13 per cent from 2022. There were […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans increased two per cent in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report by Mercer. The report, which tracks more than 450 DB pension plans, found the median solvency ratio grew to 118 per cent, as at March 29, 2024, from 116 per cent […]
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 […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans declined in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to reports by Mercer and Aon. Mercer’s report, which tracked more than 450 DB pension plans, found the median solvency ratio declined to 116 per cent as at Dec. 31, 2023, from its previous high of 125 […]
U.S.-based defined benefit pension plan sponsors are increasingly looking to assess their liability-driven investment strategies as they reach fully funded statuses, according to a new study by Coalition Greenwich and commissioned by Franklin Templeton. The study found nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of pension plan sponsors reported funding ratios of 100 per cent or higher, […]
Nova Scotia-based private employers can now transfer their pension plans into the Public Service Superannuation Plan. The Private Sector Pension Plan Transfer Act, which received royal assent on Nov. 9, provides all employers based in the province with the option of offering or continuing to offer a defined benefit pension plan with a prescribed funding […]
Nine in 10 (89 per cent) U.S. defined benefit pension plan sponsors say they’re expecting to completely divest their plan liabilities in roughly four years, according to a new survey by MetLife Inc. The survey, which polled 250 DB plan sponsors, found nearly all (94 per cent) said the financial impacts of volatility and related risks […]