MetLife Poll Finds Growing Percentage of Plan Sponsors with De-Risking Goals Looking to Completely Divest Their Company’s Pension Liabilities in the Near Future

October 08, 2024 at 08:55 AM EDT

As LIMRA reports a 14% increase in pension risk transfer (PRT) deals for the first half of 2024 compared to 2023¹, MetLife’s 2024 Pension Risk Transfer Poll finds the percentage of companies with de-risking goals who plan to completely divest their defined benefit (DB) pension plan liabilities has increased to 93%, up from 89% in the 2023 Poll. About half, 52%, plan to divest two to five years from now, with an average of 3.8 years.

“As the Poll and other market data indicates, the pension risk transfer market continues its bullish growth and will likely continue to remain strong in the near future,” says Elizabeth Walsh, vice president, U.S. Pensions, MetLife. “As a market leader focused on service, MetLife has seen this activity firsthand, including several transactions with the same clients as they continue to derisk in tranches, focusing on specific participant populations.”

The driving force between the continued interest in de-risking remains the current macroeconomic environment. In fact, 47% of plan sponsors say that rising interest rates are the top catalyst, followed by rising inflation, 45%, and increased market volatility, 44%.

Preparing to Act

According to the Poll, 93% of plan sponsors say their company is weighing its pension plan’s value against the cost of the benefit. And, plan sponsors are preparing to take action to reduce their DB plans’ pension risks, with many taking steps in the last two years that are typically precursors to pension risk transfer. These steps include improving their plan’s data quality (56%), increasing plan contributions (52%), having more involvement from their C-suite executives in DB plan management (29%), offering a lump sum distribution “window” to terminated-vested participants (23%) and adopting a liability driven investing (LDI) strategy to minimize risks that could affect the plan’s funded status (20%).

“It is encouraging to see improving data quality as a top action item,” says Walsh. “Through our implementation experience, we have seen the benefit of clean participant data, which leads to a smoother transfer of the administration to the insurer, and ultimately, a better participant experience.”

As an additional indicator of plan sponsor’s interest in pension de-risking, the Poll found 85% of plan sponsors are having, or already had, discussions with their plan advisors/consultants about a pension risk transfer.

Exploring De-Risking Strategies

When it comes to the type of pension risk transfer activity plan sponsors report they will most likely use to achieve their de-risking goals, 66% say they will use an annuity buyout, including an annuity buyout on its own or a combination of lump sum and an annuity buyout. This is up significantly from the 46% who said they would choose this activity in MetLife’s inaugural Pension Risk Transfer Poll in 2015.

The Poll also found that over two-thirds of plan sponsors, 68%, will secure a group annuity for a retiree lift-out, transferring the liabilities related to some or all of a plan’s retiree population. According to the Poll, more than half of plan sponsors who say they will use an annuity buyout, 54%, report they would likely secure a single annuity buyout transaction, while 46% would use a series of annuity buyout transactions.

“The current macro environment has led to favorable annuity pricing, creating a sense of urgency for plan sponsors to act sooner rather than later when choosing to pursue a transaction,” says Walsh. “As the Poll shows, some plan sponsors may be positioned to act quickly since they’ve started the path to de-risking by taking some critical preparatory steps and are keeping an eye on the market.”

When it comes to the timing of potential transactions, the Poll found that 90% of plan sponsors have been closely tracking estimated market pricing for annuity buyouts. In fact, 38% are watching very closely. Eighty-two percent would be concerned about missing a window of opportunity to secure an annuity buyout with competitive rates.

To address this concern, MetLife recently launched its Pension Risk Transfer Estimator Tool, which helps plan sponsors estimate the cost of transferring certain pension liabilities to an insurance provider.

About the Study

MetLife’s 2024 Pension Risk Transfer Poll was fielded between July 16 and July 31, 2024. MetLife commissioned MMR Research Associates, Inc. to conduct the online survey. Survey responses were received from 250 DB plan sponsors with $100 million or more in plan assets who have de-risking goals. The Poll results reflect companies with average DB plan assets of $1.3 billion, and an average funded status of 94%. To read the full report, visit http://metlife.com/2024prtpoll.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

¹ https://www.limra.com/en/newsroom/news-releases/2024/limra-u.s.-pension-risk-transfer-sales-jump-14-in-first-half-of-2024/