Pension Buyout

Pension Buyout is a process in which the sponsor of the pension fund transfers the financial liability to another party, usually an insurer, by paying a fixed amount. By transferring the liability, this company becomes free of pension payments.

The insurer becomes responsible for meeting the liability. Thus, the buyout can be either in the form of a lump sum payment or annuity, which is typically similar to the pension amount or a bit less than that, to be paid in the future. However, the process has both its pros and cons.

• Pension buyout is the concept of transfer of the liability of pension payment by the pension sponsor to an insurance company or employee of an organization.
• This can be done in return for payment or either a single large amount or an annuity payment periodically.
•  However, the pension holder may choose to accept the buyout or remain with the old pension scheme.
• Recent rapid changes in the financial landscape through increases in interest rates and volatility of the stock market have triggered the rise in buyouts.

Pension buyout is the concept of transferring the liability of the pension scheme, usually to an insurance provider, and becoming free of pension payment in the future. This winding up and financial transfer are steadily gaining popularity in the market due to reasons like an increase in the longevity of pension holders. Often, the final salary schemes are costly for these companies.

In the process, the pension sponsor can offer the buyout to an insurance company, or the employers can also offer a buyout to the employees. The pension receiver has to relinquish their claim on the periodic receipt of the pension and instead get a lumpsum amount or an annuity equal to the pension amount. It may also be a combination of both.

The method to calculate pension buyout of the buyout amount is complex, involving the present value of future pension payments, which are closely related to the years of service, age, or retirement date. However, the pension holder always has the option to either accept the buyout or remain with the pension plan.

After the process of the buyout is complete, the pension buyout companies assume the responsibility for pension payment and any loss or risk of benefits. The insurance providers find it easy to take responsibility because of their vast corpus of funds. However, companies that are pension providers may not have that level of capital. Therefore, they need to cut down expenses or reduce liabilities to maintain smoothness in operations.

Here, it is essential to understand the various options or choices that the pension holder has when faced with the offer of a buyout. Each of the options has its benefits as well as limitations. But overall, they are of the following types:

• Annuity - Annuity means the company will calculate pension buyout based on a certain amount that will be paid regularly to the person, which is guaranteed and will serve as a constant income stream for them. This amount is typically the same or a bit less than the actual pension amount. But it more or less serves the purpose.
• Lumpsum payment – Here, the holders are paid a significant amount together, which is beneficial because they get a considerable sum of money that can be invested elsewhere to earn profitable returns. But in the process, the regular receipt of pension is relinquished.
• Continue with pension – The holder can choose not to go with any of the above options and continue with receipt of pension throughout their lifetime. This is usually done if the company is financially stable and the pension holder has the confidence that they will receive regular income in the future.

Let us understand the concept used by pension buyout companies with the help of some suitable examples as given below:

Example #1

Let us assume that James is nearing retirement age from XYZ Pvt Ltd, and his employer offers him the buyout scheme. Initially, James felt that this would be a loss for him since his fixed, regular monthly income on retirement days would stop. He felt insecure about the future and worried about how to pay monthly bills if he accepted the scheme. However, after consulting a financial advisor, he decided to go for a lumpsum amount and transfer it to an individual retirement account (IRA). This is easy to open and offers tax benefits. Therefore, in such cases, it is good to take financial advice from experts or professionals working in this field.

Example #2

The buyout method is being increasingly adopted by the US and UK markets to offload the risk of pension payment as a liability and also cut down the overall cost of operations. In the year 2022, the total buyout reached an all-time high of $48.3 billion, according to a LIMRA survey. This was an increase of 42% as compared to 2021.

The total number of such contracts with insurance companies also reached an all-time high, with 562 in 2022 as compared to 500 in 2019. Fluctuations in the equity market and interest rate increases contributed to the same.

Consequences of pension buyout plan refer to both the positive and negative ones. Let us study the consequences of going for a buyout from the viewpoint of both pension holders and sponsors.

Pension Holders:

• Termination of regular income – It is obvious that if the employee accepts the buyout scheme, the pension will be terminated. Therefore, they will not receive any pension amount after their retirement, which means a discontinuation of fixed income flow.
• Feeling of Insecurity – From the above comes a sense of insecurity. Pension holders may feel the pressure of not being able to meet their bills and short-term liabilities due to a lack of regular income flowing into their accounts in case they accept the lumpsum payment. The annuity option may offer an amount less than the actual pension, which may not prove to be very profitable.
• Significant investment – However, the positive effect of the pension buyout plan is that the pension holders may make a good investment out of the single large amount that they receive, which will offer them good returns during their lifetime. It can also be put into an IRA that offers tax benefits and can be opened with any bank.

Sponsor:

• Liability transfer – Sponsors find it a great avenue to transfer their pension payment liability to some other institution capable of managing the same or offering the scheme to their employees. Thus, they no longer need to worry about cash outflow, which, in the current times, is often extending beyond the planned period because of the increase in the lifespan of people in general due to better living conditions, better income, or medical facilities.
• Expense reduction – Cost-cutting is an integral part of maintaining financial stability in an organization. Therefore, companies are continuously trying to find better and easier ways to reduce costs or direct low-risk and low-return funds toward more productive opportunities. This pension buyout formula helps them to transfer the risk and liability of a low-risk asset to some other source and save cost, which can be diverted to productive opportunities. 
• Better balance sheets – Liability reduction results in the display of a good and attractive balance sheet. On the other hand, the pension fund is also an asset accumulated with the company but generating low returns. Removal of the same will not affect the financial condition of the entity to a significant extent. Thus, this is an ideal way to put up a healthy balance sheet for the stakeholders.

Both the methods of buy-in and buyout ensure the elimination of risk associated with pension schemes. But there are some differences between them, as given below:

• While the former means termination or winding up of the liability of pension payment, the latter means accepting the responsibility of pension payment to members.
• For the former, the employer contribution is stopped, while for the latter, the contribution of the employers continues.
• The former affects the entire membership of the scheme, while the latter affects a particular group and is treated as an investment.
• The use of the pension buyout formula scheme is eliminated from the company's balance sheet after the buyout, but it remains in the company's balance sheet after the buy-in.

This article has been a guide to what is the Pension Buyout. Here, we explain its examples, options, differences with pension buy-in, and potential consequences. You may also find some useful articles here -

• Annuity vs Pension
• Asset Liability Management
• Asset Management Company