Unisys to transfer $250 million in U.S. pension liabilities

Unisys Corp., Blue Bell, Pa., has closed agreements to purchase group annuity contracts from two F&G Annuities & Life subsidiaries to transfer about $250 million in U.S. pension plan liabilities.

The transactions, announced in a Nov. 27 news release, will transfer the responsibilities of paying benefits to about 3,900 retirees and beneficiaries to Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co. and Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co. of New York. The population consists of retirees and beneficiaries who receive "monthly benefits lower than certain thresholds."

The transaction is the latest in a series of pension risk transfers the company has completed in recent years. In October 2021, the company purchased a group annuity contract from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. to transfer about $235 million in U.S. pension plan liabilities representing about 6,900 retirees and beneficiaries. In January of that year, Unisys had also purchased a contract from MassMutual to transfer about $280 million in U.S. pension plan assets. That transaction transferred the responsibility to MassMutual of paying benefits to about 11,600 retirees and beneficiaries.

Unisys contributed about $600 million to its U.S. pension plans in 2020, citing its desire to improve its funding ratio in order to begin a series of PRT transactions.

As of Dec. 31, the company's U.S. pension plan assets totaled $2.44 billion, while projected benefit obligations totaled $2.853 billion, for a funding ratio of 85.5%, according to its most recent 10-K filing.