Kemper Corp., Chicago, purchased group annuity contracts from insurers and offered a lump sum to participants in its pension plan in October.
The company purchased "annuities on behalf of current plan participants currently receiving benefits and offered to make lump-sum payments" to former employees who are vested in the plan but not currently receiving benefits, according to a 10-Q filing with the SEC on Monday.
Kemper froze its U.S. pension plan to benefit accruals effective June 30, 2016. As of Dec. 31, the plan had about 8,650 participants and beneficiaries, about 1,250 of whom were active employees, according to the company's most recent 10-K filing.
Also as of that date, the plan had assets totaling $665 million and projected benefit obligations totaling $661 million, for a funding ratio of 100.6%, according to the 10-K filing.
How many participants were part of the pension buyouts, and how much in assets and liabilities they represented, were not disclosed in the new 10-Q filing.
Kemper spokeswoman Barbara Ciesemier declined to comment.
