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The Case for Annuity Buy-Ins
Opportunities to leverage this pension risk management solution are poised to increase
近年来，美国养老金风险转移景观一直由单一的交易主导：年金买断。年金买卖是公司成功的推动工具，以减少养老金风险并管理养老金成本上涨。但是还有另一种类似类型的交易，这实现了许多相同的目标，但已经过得较远：年金买入合同。这种不太常见但密切相关的养老金风险管理解决方案可能是许多情况下的养老金计划赞助商的令人信服的策略，而这些机会将增加随着大多数计划提案国继续恶化并取得养老金计划退出策略。
Many annuity buy-ins have been transacted in the UK in recent years, and while only around a dozen buy-ins have been executed in the US, we expect to see a significant increase in that number going forward. While plan sponsors may not view a buy-in as a replacement for a buy-out, it should be considered as an intermediary step when transacting immediately is not possible (e.g. plan termination) or desirable (e.g. delaying or minimizing an accounting settlement charge or if union support is needed).
Download the full white paper and learn more about annuity buy-in opportunities.
What is an annuity buy-in?
An annuity buy-in is like an annuity buy-out in that it is a transaction in which a plan sponsor insures its pension obligations and eliminates risk. In a buy-out, a pension plan sponsor segments a portion of their pension plan and transfers both the assets and liabilities for the covered population to an insurer. The same is true for a buy-in, except that the plan sponsor retains the ultimate responsibility for administering pension payments to the covered individuals. Thus, two main differences arise:
- 买入合同作为计划资产，这可以从资助的地位和所需的捐款视角有利。
- The plan sponsor will continue to be responsible for PBGC premiums and other administrative expenses.
The two contracts typically cost the same at inception. At any point in the future, a buy-in can be converted to a buy-out with the same insurance company, typically at no additional cost1.
Why utilization will increase
The number of plans within striking distance of full plan terminations has increased due to rising interest rates. However, the plan termination process is involved and requires a minimum execution timeline of several months. Board and/or senior management level approval is often needed, and these approvals typically hinge on financial estimates that are based on market pricing at the time of the estimate. As a result, the time gap between the decision to proceed and the transaction closing can be as much as a year or more.
During this gap, plan sponsors have very few options to mitigate the financial risk related to insurer pricing. Material differences in relative pricing can occur based on even mild market changes. Based on an analysis of indicative insurer prices, the ratio of insurer price to accounting benefit obligation can change by as much as several percentage points over a given month, let alone over a longer period. This is driven by basis risk between an insurer portfolio and the AA-rated corporate bond approach used to determine pension discount rates.
An annuity buy-in, in contrast, is the perfect hedge, as it is convertible to a buy-out at little, or no, additional cost. A plan sponsor can use a buy-in to lock-in pricing and reduce exposure to both capital market conditions and insurer capacity during the plan termination process.
对冲金融和保险公司的需求不仅限于考虑全面计划终止的提案国。考虑大型买断交易的计划赞助商可能无法立即或愿意立即进行诸如考虑完全终止的风险，有很多原因。
Download the full white paper and learn more about annuity buy-in opportunities.
1Depending on the agreed terms, conversion to a buy-out may require a one-time expense to cover future administrative costs the insurer would bear. Aside from the potential exception of administrative costs, the annuity buy-out price covers all benefits already covered by the buy-in, which results in zero cost at conversion.