pension risk transfer

Metlife, Inc., one of the largest life and annuities insurance groups in the world, completed a second longevity reinsurance transaction in the UK market, reinsuring $320 million of pension liability related longevity risk for Rothesay Life.

Insurance and reinsurance broker and consultancy Aon has warned UK pension schemes not to over-react to the recent short-term spike in mortality rates in the country, as the impact to longevity risk assumptions may not be as significant as it seems.

As the longevity risk transfer market continues down its impressive growth path, Amy Kessler, Head of the Longevity Risk Transfer at Prudential Financial, Inc. of the U.S., believes there is room for capital markets solutions to play a role.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a sovereign wealth investment fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and tasked with investing funds on behalf of the Government of the Emirate, has been confirmed as investing in a significant chunk of pension risk transfer specialists Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).

Aon has hired Steve Bale from Legal & General to join its Risk Settlement team, the area of the brokerage that focuses on life and pension risk transfer, including longevity swaps and reinsurance.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) has potential in helping counterparties to achieve longevity risk transfer and in financing or backing large transactions for bulk annuity insurers, according to consultants Hymans Robertson.

Two defined benefit pension schemes of SSE plc, a FTSE 100 energy company, have entered into a novel combined transaction that enabled £1.2 billion of longevity risk to be hedged using both buy-in and insurance, with longevity risk also directly passed to reinsurance providers.

Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has now sold down the remainder of its shareholding in UK pension risk transfer specialist life insurer Rothesay Life, with the stake being picked up by private equity giant Blackstone, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and insurer MassMutual.

Reinsurance firm SCOR has hired seasoned longevity risk transfer executive Wolfgang Murmann to be the firms new Head of Longevity for the EMEA region, picking him up from asset management giant Insight Investment where he worked on solutions for pensions and institutions.

UK closed life and pension fund consolidator Phoenix Group has unwound its 2014 £900 million longevity swap transaction with the help of Aon Hewitt, shifting to an annuity arrangement which it received beneficial pricing on thanks to having the swap arranged in advance.