Entries by lisa

Pacific Life Takes On Pension Obligations for S&P Global and Lennox International

Earlier this year two companies announced the purchase of group annuity contracts from Pacific Life Insurance Company for the purpose of pension de-risking.  In a $370 million transaction, S&P Global transferred its obligations to 4,600 retirees to Pacific Life.  Lennox International, the heating and cooling company transferred $100 million in pension obligations to Pacific Life […]

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Revised Structured Settlement Protection Act in Louisiana

Louisiana’s Structured Settlement Protection Act (SSPA) was just revised, adding some additional provisions which may help curb some of the factoring industry abuses.  Unfortunately, some of the new provisions are designed to protect the factoring companies, and not those selling their structured settlement payments.  The new legislation, which goes into effect on July 1, 2020 […]

Dana Incorporated – Transfers Pensions to Athene and Companion Life Insurance Company

Dana Incorporated, the Maumee, Ohio based maker of power-conveyance and energy management solutions for vehicles and machinery has now transferred all liabilities associated with the Dana Retirement Plan, by purchasing group annuity contracts for the remaining plan participants.  The company contributed approximately $62 million in cash to the Retirement Plan in order to facilitate the […]

Avery Dennison Transfers Pension Obligations

Avery Dennison, the global manufacturer and distributor of adhesive materials, apparel branding labels, and specialty medical products headquartered in Glendale, California transferred approximately $750 million of its pension obligations to American General Life Insurance Co. in May 2019. This pension de-risking transfer affects about 8,500 retirees.  In July 2018, Avery Dennison terminated its US defined […]

3/4 of Companies Plan to Transfer Pension Risk

According to the 2019 Pension Risk Transfer Poll sponsored by MetLife, most companies plan to rid themselves of their pension liabilities in the future.  Pension de-risking transfers topped $26 Billion in 2018, up 14% from 2017.  Pension de-risking since 2012 exceeds $125 Billion.  2019 is on-track to be a big year for pension de-risking.  According […]

Beware of Structured Settlement Secondary Market Scams!

Scams in the structured settlement secondary market abound. If you are the recipient of a structured settlement annuity and receive a phone call from someone who says “I work with your insurance company and you are owed money” just hang up the phone.  The caller doesn’t work with your insurance company, and you aren’t “owed […]

Senator Gounardes Sponsors “Same As” Bill in NY

Senator Andrew Gounardes (D. 22nd) has sponsored a “same as” bill – S4864 to accompany A5818 – “AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing protection to certain retirees from pension de-risking transactions; and to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to statutorily exempt payments” sponsored by Assemblyman Peter Abbate.  […]

IRS Reverses Its Position on Lump Sum Buyouts

The IRS released a new notice earlier this month, which will allow defined benefit plan (DBP) sponsors to once again offer lump-sum buyouts to retirees who are receiving pension benefits. This practice of lump-sum buyouts was effectively halted in 2015  with the release of IRS Notice 2015-49. Prior to the 2015 IRS Notice, DBP’s regularly […]

Structured Settlement Secondary Market Fraud in Illinois

A recent Appellate Court opinion from the 4th District in Illinois highlights more structured settlement factoring fraud.  In this instance, Stone Street Capital, LLC purchased payments in four separate transactions from 2010 – 2013 filed in Sangamon County, Illinois.  Stone Street filed four transfer petitions seeking to purchase structured settlement annuity payment streams from a […]

Prudential Takes on W.R. Grace Pensions

In its 2018 10-K, Maryland based chemical conglomerate, W.R. Grace & Co. reported that it has purchased a group annuity contract from Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America, transferring $117.4 million in pension liabilities.  W.R. Grace recognized a $1.0 million gain on that transaction. Earlier in 2018, W.R. Grace’s U.S. pension plans paid $42.2 million in lump […]