Amid geopolitical conflict and market volatility, the volume of risk transfers among Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors is down roughly 60 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, says Brent Simmons, senior vice-president and head of DB solutions at Sun Life Financial Inc. “The pullback that […]
Brookfield Wealth Solutions Ltd. is targeting the U.K. pension risk transfer industry with a planned US$3.17 billion acquisition of insurance firm Just Group, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The transaction would provide a 75 per cent premium based on the closing price for Just Group shares on July 30, 2025. Read: […]
An article on how employers are supporting working parents and caregivers was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. 6.1 million Canadian workers juggling jobs and caregiving: report 2. Survey finds 75% of women want benefits to […]
The Canadian annuity purchase market recorded $700 million in transactions during the first quarter of 2025, according to a new report by Telus Health. It noted a “notable deceleration” in the volume of transactions after what a record-breaking year, which isn’t uncommon for the first quarter of a new year. The last quarter of 2024 […]
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 […]
Verizon Communications Inc. is facing a lawsuit by retirees alleging the organization breached its fiduciary duties and engaged in prohibited transactions when it completed a US$5.9 billion pension risk transfer to Prudential Insurance Co. of America nearly a year ago, according to a report by Investment News. The proposed class action lawsuit, filed in December […]
Increased deal-making in the Canadian annuities market is adding pressure to defined benefit plan sponsors seeking to de-risk their plans, says Jason Vary, president of Actuarial Solutions Inc. “[The market is] getting worse,” he says. “This year, I’ve had some experiences where we’re placing some small annuities, under $5 million, and we really struggled to […]
The market volume of annuity purchases by Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors reached an estimated $2.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a small decline from $2.5 billion in the previous quarter, according to a new report by Telus Health. It noted some insurers are showing a strong appetite and offer competitive pricing […]
An article on International Business Machines Corp.’s latest pension risk transfer was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. IBM transferring US$6 billion in pension liabilities via group annuity buyout 2. How employers can encourage employees to take guilt-free sick days […]
International Business Machines Corp. is transferring roughly US$6 billion in defined benefit pension obligations through a group annuity buyout. Prudential Financial Inc. will assume responsibility for making retirement benefit payments to roughly 32,000 retirees and their beneficiaries beginning Jan. 1, 2025. Read: IBM entering US$16BN pension risk transfer The transaction marks the second pension risk […]