While global pension plan sponsors’ assets grew by 10 per cent to reach US$63.1 trillion in 2023, this value is still five per cent lower than in 2021, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It found this growth was largely attributed to gains in equity markets last year […]
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 […]
Sustainable investing needs to take a much more nuanced approach today than it did in the past, according to Edward Vaughan Dixon, head of sustainability and private markets at Aviva Investors, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. Environmental, social and governance strategies should result in a holistic view of the risks behind a […]
With many Canadian defined benefit pension plans in a strong funded position, plan sponsors, particularly those with unionized workforces, are increasingly discussing the use of surplus funds, says Gavin Benjamin, a partner in the retirement and benefits solutions practice at Telus Health. The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan rose on […]
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is being targeted in a lawsuit over a US$2 billion pension risk transfer deal completed in 2019 with Athene Annuity and Life Co. The class action lawsuit, filed by former employee Charles Doherty and which names independent consultant State Street Global Advisors Trust Co. as a defendant, argues the pharmaceutical company is […]
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 funded ratio of U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans declined to 98.5 per cent in fiscal 2023 from 99.4 per cent in 2022, according to a new report by Milliman Inc. The report, which reviews the financial disclosures of the 100 largest U.S. public corporate DB plans, found their average return on investments was […]
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 […]