Huge Pension Risk Transfer Deals Were Done in 2022, But Key Information Was Not Made Public

In total, $48.3 billion in pension liabilities were moved to insurance companies in 2022. This is a 40% increase from 2021.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, $2.5 billion of this risk was transferred to unnamed insurance companies during 2022. The largest of the pension risk transfers to unnamed insurance companies was Newmont Corp, who transferred approximately $527 million in pension liabilities in March 2022. A subsidiary of Gannett Co. Inc. did a similar transaction. $450 million in pension liabilities and assets were transferred to an unnamed insurer.

You can read S&P’s report here.

We are disappointed at the failure of these companies to disclose the insurers to which pension risk has been transferred. Retirees, the ultimate beneficiaries of the liabilities being transferred, often have no ability to influence whether a pension risk transfer takes place, or the insurance company to which liabilities are transferred. It is therefore essential that these transactions are conducted with transparency so that retirees’ rights are not diminished without their knowledge. Non-disclosure of insurance company information in a pension risk transfer deal flouts these imperatives.