ABX Air Inc., Wilmington, Ohio, purchased a group annuity contract from Mutual of America Life Insurance Co. to transfer about $105 million in pension liabilities, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC on Friday from parent company Air Transport Services Group Inc.
The transaction, which closed Aug. 30, will transfer the benefit payments of 1,178 retirees in the ABX Air Retirement Income Plan to Mutual of America beginning in November. According to the filing, the plan utilized "approximately $106.6 million of qualified pension plan assets" to make the purchase, which will reduce the plan's liabilities by $105 million.
The plan's previous derisking effort in 2014 was a lump-sum offer to former employees vested in the plan who had yet to retire. About $98.7 million in pension liabilities were distributed to those participants.
As of Dec. 31, plan assets totaled $715.9 million and projected benefit obligations totaled $791.1 million, for a funding ratio of 90.5%, according to the company's most recent 10-K filing.
Officials at ABX Air could not be immediately reached to provide further information.
