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Pactiv LLC purchased group annuity contracts from Athene Annuity and Life Company and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York to transfer about $660 million in U.S. pension liabilities. They transfer the future benefit obligations and annuity administration for approximately 10,200 retirees and beneficiaries. The transfer reduced Pactiv's gross pension plan liabilities by approximately 40% of the plan's estimated projected benefit obligations.

Alcoa Corporation purchased group annuity contracts from two subsidiaries of Athene Holdings Ltd. that transferred approximately $1 billion of pension obligations and assets associated with its defined benefit pension plans for about 4,400 US retirees and beneficiaries. This is the Alcoa’s fifth pension annuity transaction for a total transfer of approximately $3.3 billion in pension obligations and assets from 2018 to date.

The Yell Pension Plan has agreed a £370 million buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation, covering the remaining liabilities of the defined benefit scheme. This is the second transaction between the plan sponsored by digital marketing provider Yell and the insurer, following an initial £200 million buy-in in 2014 covering 500 pensioners.

Sometime probably in the last half of 2022, Artex Capital Solutions's Eclipse Re private CAT bond issuance and reinsurance transformer platform, completed two issues of private CAT bond notes, totaling $76 million of new risk capital issued. One is a $65 million Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2022-3A) transaction, and the other is a just slightly over $11 million Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2022-6A) transaction.

Lee Enterprises Inc. has purchased group annuity contracts from insurance companies to transfer $86 million in U.S. pension fund liabilities. The Davenport, Iowa-based publishing company completed the transactions with the undisclosed insurers in September, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC on September 23.

According to Artemis.bm, global CAT bond issuance slowed down dramatically in Q3 2022, resulting in below-average issuance for the period. But still the outstanding cat bond market stands $4.7 billion bigger than at the same time a year earlier. While the third-quarter is typically the slowest of the year, Q3 2022 was particularly so with new CAT bond issuance coming in below-average for the period.

"The first half of this year witnessed 78 U.K. bulk annuity deals, a record for the period, which registered 19 more transactions than the first six months of 2021. Nearly £20 billion of risk transfer deals covering bulk annuities and longevity swaps occurred in the first half of 2022, according to Mercer. Total bulk annuity deal premia made up £12 billion, with more than half of the deals worth between £10 million and £100 million."

"Coalition, a technology-focused cyber insurance company, launched a Class 3B Bermuda based reinsurance company called Ferian Re Ltd. which is backed by third-party capital and will act as a kind of sidecar-like source of capacity to support its cyber insurance programs."

Legal & General Assurance Society Limited agreed to a £13 million full scheme buy-in for the Jarvis Group Limited Pension Plan , securing the benefits of more than 90 members, including 72 retirees.

USAA, the U.S. primary mutual insurer, is looking to issue $150 million Residential Reinsurance 2022 Limited (Series 2022-2) CAT two-tranche four-year bonds, its 40th such issuance. They will provide USAA with indemnity and per-occurrence based reinsurance protection, covering it against losses from multiple US perils.

Barbados has embedded a parametric natural catastrophe event trigger within a sovereign bond issuance, with the occurrence of a natural disaster able to trigger a deferral of payments to holders of the dollar-denominated bond. The sovereign bond issue features defined events that could trigger a deferral of payments to bondholders by up to two years, which include tropical cyclones, earthquakes and significant rainfall events. These events will be defined and measured by the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).

Houston-based Sysco Corp. entered into an agreement to purchase a group annuity contract from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. to transfer about $700 million in U.S. pension plan liabilities. The annuity contract transfers the responsibility of paying benefits to about 10,000 retirees and beneficiaries. As of July 2, Sysco had $3.633 billion in U.S. pension plan assets, and $3.921 billion in projected benefit obligations, for a funding ratio of 92.7%.

Corporate pension programs in the UK are increasingly looking to offload their risk to insurers as they try to insulate themselves from future market turmoil. Pension Insurance Corporation, one of the biggest players in the UK market, is seeing more requests for so-called full buyouts. It’s a sign of the sweeping changes in the industry after bond chaos in recent weeks sparked forced selling by some pension funds.

Fidelis Insurance Holdings is looking to issue at least $100 million of Herbie Re Ltd. (Series 2022-1) single-tranche four-year CAT bonds focused on earthquake risks in California, Oregon, Washington and Canada. It will be structured on an annual aggregate and regionally weighted industry loss index basis, across four individual annual risk periods to the end of December 2026.

British aerospace manufacturing firm Cobham completed a £530 million bulk purchase annuity transaction with Standard Life in August 2022. All plan participants are now covered by annuities, following the deal plus a similar transaction in 2013.

The Agfa UK Group Pension Plan has completed a second annuity buy-in with Standard Life, covering the vast majority of the fund’s remaining liabilities. The £200 million bulk purchase annuity transaction, completed in September, covers the benefits of 770 members. It follows a £230 million partial buy-in completed in 2021, which covered 70% of pensioner liabilities.

Ally Financial Inc., Detroit, completed the termination of its U.S. pension plan through the purchase of a group annuity contract from an insurance company to transfer $103 million in remaining liabilities.

West Pharmaceutical Services has terminated its U.S. defined benefit plan. The company then purchased a group annuity contract from an insurance company to transfer remaining liabilities. The company did not disclose the name of the insurance company, how much was transferred, and how much was distributed in lump sums. As of December 31, 2021 the company's global defined benefit plan assets totaled $249 million, while projected benefit obligations totaled $270 million.

Cobham Pension Plan completed a £530 million bulk purchase annuity transaction with Standard Life. All plan participants are now covered by annuities, following the deal plus a similar transaction in 2013.

Prestige Consumer Healthcare and Commercial Vehicle Group completed pension plan terminations. Prestige Consumer Healthcare purchased a group annuity contract transferring $31 million in U.S. pension liabilities to an undisclosed insurance company. Commercial Vehicle Group completed its termination process with the purchase of a $25 million group annuity contract from an undisclosed insurance company.

Huntington Ingalls Industries purchased group annuity contracts from undisclosed insurance companies to transfer $32 million in U.S. pension plan liabilities. The purchases transfer the responsibility of paying benefits to about 500 retirees and beneficiaries.

Automotive parts company Cooper-Standard is terminating its U.S. pension plan. As part of the termination process, the company will offer lump sums to participants and settle the remaining liabilities after the distribution of lump sums through the purchase of a group annuity contract with an insurance company.

Allstate is looking to issue at least $100 million of Sanders Re III Ltd. (Series 2022-3) single-tranche four-year four-month CAT bonds. They will cover coverage against losses from US named storms, earthquakes, severe weather events, wildfires, volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts, all on a per-occurrence and indemnity trigger basis, and excluding Florida.

US-based Peabody Investments is terminating its defined benefit pension plan. Once the company receives all regulatory approvals, the completion of the termination is expected in the first half of 2023 when lump sums will be offered to participants, followed by a group annuity purchase from an insurance company to settle remaining liabilities. It had earlier purchased of a group annuity (buy-in) contract from Prudential Insurance cover the plan's liabilities.

Build America Mutual Assurance Company (BAM) the financial guarantee and municipal bond specialist, issued $150 million Fidus Re Ltd. (Series 2022-1) single-tranche 12-year CAT bonds. They cover losses to BAM’s financial guarantee insurance business, on an indemnity trigger basis.

Pension Insurance Corporation has said that falling scheme liabilities will make UK pension risk transfer market volumes appear smaller over time, predicting a market of £30 billion over the next year. Defined benefit scheme funding levels have improved this year, with levels helped by surging gilt yields. The aggregate liabilities of the 5,215 schemes covered by the Pension Protection Fund’s 7800 Index fell from £1.69 trillion in October 2021 to £1.12 trillion in October 2022.

The £1.3 million Collective Enterprises Limited Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme has agreed to a full buy-in covering all of its pensioner and deferred members. The deal was completed in September 2022 with Just Group and covered seven pensioners and 12 deferred members.

Fidelis Insurance Holdings has reduced the target size of their Herbie Re Ltd. (Series 2022-1) single-tranche four-year CAT bonds from $100 million to $75 million, and widened the spread roughly 30% above the initial mid-point of price guidance. The bonds cover losses from earthquakes in California, Oregon, Washington and Canada. It will be structured on an annual aggregate and regionally weighted industry loss index basis, across four individual annual risk periods.

UK-based Inigo Insurance is looking to issue at least $100 million Montoya Re Ltd. (Series 2022-2) single-tranche 2.5-year CAT bonds. They will cover peak perils of U.S. named storms, U.S. and Canada earthquakes on an annual aggregate basis, triggered by a PCS industry loss index

The U.S. pension risk transfer market experienced an estimated $27 billion in volume in the third quarter, which should lead to a new annual record exceeding $50 billion, according to Legal & General. During the third quarter, IBM purchased group annuity contracts from Prudential and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. to transfer a total of $16 billion in U.S. pension plan liabilities. Other deals included Alcoa's August purchase of group annuity contracts from two Athene Holding subsidiaries to transfer about $1 billion in U.S. pension plan liabilities.