United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, agreed to purchase group annuity contracts from Banner Life Insurance Co. and William Penn Life Insurance Co. of New York to transfer a total of about $284 million in U.S. pension liabilities.
The agreement, signed on Monday, will transfer the benefit-paying responsibilities for about 17,800 U.S. retirees and beneficiaries in the United States Steel Corp. Plan for Employee Pension Benefits (Revision of 2003), according to the company's 8-K filing with the SEC Friday.
Both insurers, which are subsidiaries of Legal & General America, will take on those responsibilities effective Jan. 1. The filing did not disclose how the population will be split between the two insurers.
Independent fiduciary State Street Global Advisors assisted.
As of Dec. 31, the United States Steel Corp. Plan for Employee Pension Benefits (Revision of 2003) had $5.8 billion in assets, according to the plan's most recent Form 5500 filing.
Also as of that date, a total of 25,692 retirees or separated participants were receiving benefits, the Form 5500 filing said.
U.S. Steel spokesman John O. Ambler could not be immediately reached for further information.
