Financial services provider The Standard hired Matthew King
within the firm’s retirement services group as the new director of third-party
administrator (TPA) relationships.
King will support The Standard’s TPA partners across
the country, focusing on both current and prospective relationships. Daniel Hall,
vice president of retirement plan sales for The Standard, says King will also
be called on to provide partnering TPAs with innovative services and resources.
King has 20 years of experience in the employer-sponsored retirement
plan marketplace—most recently as the director of TPA and specialist adviser
sales support at Transamerica Retirement Solutions. He has also served in
retirement plan operational leadership roles with Voya Financial.
King graduated from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester,
Vermont, with degrees in political science and business administration. He
holds both FINRA Series 6 and 26 licenses.
A
survey of North American defined benefit (DB) pension plan professionals
conducted by Clear Path Analysis found 23% are still considering transferring plan
liabilities to a third-party insurer in 2015.
Two
percent said it is very likely they will do so in 2015, and 4% indicated such a
transfer was already implemented or in progress.
Thirty-seven
percent of pension plan professionals in North America are considering
utilizing or increasing the usage of liability-driven investing (LDI)
strategies in 2015. Eighteen percent said they were very likely to do so, and
32% reported they have implemented an LDI strategy.
Clear
Path says these trends are partly the result of increasing longevity of careers
and lives of the general population of North America. The Society of Actuaries
released updated mortality tables for pension plans late last year, which increased the assumed life expectancy of
plan participants. As a result, DB plans will have increased pension liabilities and plan sponsors have had to review future benefit obligations.
Twenty-seven
percent of survey respondents indicated the new mortality tables will have no
effect on the plan liabilities, while 16% said the updated numbers will
increase liabilities 1% to 3%; 33% anticipate a 3% to 5% increase; and 24%
expect an increase of 5% or more.
In
addition, asked what action their companies would take if DB plan liabilities
increased due to the new mortality tables, 12% of respondents said they would transfer
risk to a third-party, 22% would offer a lump-sum window to terminated or
retired participants, 25% would implement an LDI strategy, 8% would close or
freeze their plans, and 23% would make an additional voluntary contribution to
their plans.
Clear
Path also found that interest rates affect DB plan sponsors’ de-risking
decisions. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said the movement of interest
rates greatly impacts their decision to de-risk through LDI strategies or
annuity purchase, and 49% indicated it slightly impacts their decision.
The
survey, which was sponsored by Prudential Financial included responses from 51 high-profile
CIOs, finance directors or pension plan managers in the U.S. and Canada who are
responsible for managing assets between $500 million and $15 billion.
A report on the Clear Path Analysis survey, titled “Pension Plan De-Risking, North America 2015,” is available here. A free registration is required.