Annuity Success Stories

SHIPPING COMPANY
Client since 2007

Challenge

A USICG client in the shipping industry sponsored a single-employer pension plan, covering over 270 of the company’s employees and former employees. The client was looking to take advantage of recent market gains in plan asset investments and favorable annuity contract pricing to remove plan risk.

USICG Strategy

Our team of actuarial experts quickly identified and valued the retiree population for the proposed annuity purchase, forecasting annuity premiums and savings in PBGC premiums as well as other administrative expenses.

Next, we conducted a competitive bidding process among a select group of insurance carriers to provide a single premium group annuity for the retiree group. After negotiating with the selected carrier on behalf of the client, a final group annuity premium improvement of approximately 4.2%, or savings of $1,700,000, was realized.*

FUEL SUPPLIER
Client since 2006

Challenge

A USICG client that supplies fuel for government and commercial use had two pension plans - one with over 3,200 lives and another with over 200 lives. The client was looking to streamline its pension plan through a merger, but first needed to transfer union retirees to an insurance company to alleviate union leaders’ concerns.

USICG Strategy

A solution was needed to isolate the targeted union population. Our actuarial team moved swiftly to identify this segment for the proposed annuity purchase including forecasting annuity premiums and accounting liability, PBGC premium savings and other administrative expenses.

Our experienced annuity team conducted competitive bidding among a select group of insurance carriers to provide a single premium group annuity for the retiree group. The results of the competitive bidding and negotiation process resulted in a final group annuity premium of 91% of Projected Benefit Obligation (PBO) accounting liability.*

HOSPITAL 
Client since 1996

Challenge

A major hospital located in the Midwest Region of the United States wanted to terminate their pension plan. However, with over 10,000 employees and plan assets of nearly a half-billion, the thought of executing the termination was overwhelming.

USICG Strategy

After working with the client to carefully fund the plan and manage liabilities, the hospital reached a point where their pension plan was sufficiently funded for termination. USICG brought a total team approach to this project by drawing upon the expertise of our administrative, actuarial and human capital teams to deliver a customized experience for the hospital’s employees.

After conducting a search, our team placed an annuity contract with a qualified insurer in compliance with current regulations. This strategic approach proved advantageous for our client, resulting in $8,000,000 savings on the final quote and $1,000,000 per year reduction in PBGC premiums. Additionally, more than 70% of plan participants elected to receive a lump sum, further lowering the hospital’s liabilities.*