Athene annuities to cover Bristol-Myers Squibb pension payouts

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Athene Holding Ltd. has entered into an agreement with pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb in which West Des Moines-based Athene Annuity and Life Co. will cover as much as $3.8 billion of pension liabilities of Bristol-Myers’ U.S. employees and retirees. The pension plan termination transaction, to be completed in August, will cover more than 24,000 active employee participants, retirees, beneficiaries, and former Bristol-Myers Squibb employees who have not yet commenced their benefits. “This transaction represents the largest full-plan termination to date that includes both retirees and non-retirees, and we believe this approach may provide a blueprint for plan sponsors considering full plan terminations in the future,” said Sean Brennan, senior vice president and head of pension risk transfer at Athene. Athene is a leader in the pension risk transfer industry, managing pension payments for more than 80,000 annuitants. During 2018, Athene has closed six pension risk transfer transactions totaling more than $1.8 billion.