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For various reasons, many pension plan sponsors have frozen their plans in recent years to stop the accrual of additional benefits. However, the benefits that previously accrued under the frozen plans continue to represent significant obligations for many plan sponsors. To reduce these pension obligations, may plan sponsors have adopted or are considering various strategies to settle, or "de-risk," these obligations including, but not limited to, offering lump sum distributions or purchasing annuities from insurance companies. For example, earlier this year, Ford and General Motors (GM) announced that they were offering certain retirees under their pension plans who were in pay status the option to exchange their remaining annuity payments for a single lump sum distribution. In addition, GM and other plan sponsors have purchased and distributed annuity contracts from insurance companies to satisfy a portion of their pension obligations.