Sandy Spring Bancorp buys group annuity to finish termination of pension plan

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc., Olney, Md., purchased a group annuity contract from Principal Life Insurance Co. to complete the termination of its pension plan.

The bank completed the transfer of $34 million in pension liabilities to the insurer on Aug. 23, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC on Monday.

The bank's board of directors had voted March 30, 2022, to terminate the plan, which has been frozen since 2007. The effective date of termination was June 30, 2022.

In the 8-K filing, the bank said the remaining assets were distributed in lump sums based on participant election, but it did not specify the amount of assets sent via lump sums.

As of Dec. 31, plan assets totaled $32 million, while projected benefit obligations totaled $36 million, for a funding ratio of 88.9%, according to its most recent 10-K filing.

Spokeswoman Jen Schell said in an email the filing contains all the information the company plans to disclose.