PEMBROKE, Bermuda, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Athene Holding
Ltd. ("Athene") (NYSE: ATH), a leading retirement services company,
announced a significant pension buyout agreement with GE (NYSE:
GE), a global pioneer of technologies that help the world work more
efficiently, reliably, and safely. Under the terms of the
transaction, Athene's wholly-owned Iowa-domiciled life insurance subsidiary,
Athene Annuity and Life Company ("AAIA"), and Athene's wholly-owned
New York-domiciled life insurance
subsidiary, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of
New York ("AANY"), have agreed to
provide annuity benefits for approximately 70,000 retirees who are
currently receiving benefits from GE's pension plan. In aggregate,
GE is transferring approximately $1.7
billion in pension obligations to Athene.
"We are pleased to serve as a trusted partner to GE in helping
reduce the company's pension risk through this transaction," said
Kim Rosenberg, SVP Head of Pension
Risk Transfer at Athene. "Athene deeply values the relationships it
has with its customers and has a strong commitment to service
excellence. Retirees covered by this transaction can be confident
they receive the same pension benefit, on the same schedule, as
what they currently receive."
Under the agreement, AAIA and AANY will each issue a group
annuity contract to GE and individual annuity certificates to
applicable retirees. AAIA and AANY will have direct payment
responsibility for all the liabilities covered in this
transaction.
"As a leader in pension risk transfers, Athene is able to
provide plan sponsors with customized solutions to achieve their
desired pension risk and financial objectives while ensuring the
financial security of their plan participants," said Bill Wheeler, President of Athene. "Our
differentiated investment, actuarial, risk-management, and
operational capabilities, combined with our strong balance sheet,
position us well to serve the multi-trillion dollar defined benefit
marketplace."
Athene is a leader within the pension risk transfer industry,
partnering with plan sponsors and intermediaries on more than
$16 billion of transactions to
support more than 275,000 annuitants since entering the market.
About Athene Holding Ltd.
Athene, through its
subsidiaries, is a leading retirement services company that issues,
reinsures and acquires retirement savings products designed for the
increasing number of individuals and institutions seeking to fund
retirement needs. The products offered by Athene include:
- Retail fixed, fixed indexed and index-linked annuity
products;
- Reinsurance arrangements with third-party annuity providers;
and
- Institutional products, such as funding agreements and the
assumption of pension risk transfer obligations.
Athene had total assets of $191.1
billion as of September 30,
2020. Athene's principal subsidiaries include Athene Annuity
& Life Assurance Company, a Delaware-domiciled insurance company, Athene
Annuity and Life Company, an Iowa-domiciled insurance company, Athene
Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, a New
York-domiciled insurance company and Athene Life Re Ltd., a
Bermuda-domiciled reinsurer.
Further information about our companies can be found
at www.athene.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release contains, and certain oral statements made by Athene's
representatives from time to time may contain, forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ
materially from those set forth in, or implied by, such statements.
These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of
Athene's management and the management of Athene's subsidiaries.
Generally, forward-looking statements include actions, events,
results, strategies and expectations and are often identifiable by
use of the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates,"
"plans," "seeks," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "could,"
"might," or "continues" or similar expressions. Factors that could
cause actual results, events and developments to differ include,
without limitation: the accuracy of Athene's assumptions and
estimates; Athene's ability to maintain or improve financial
strength ratings; Athene's ability to manage its business in a
highly regulated industry; regulatory changes or actions; the
impact of Athene's reinsurers failing to meet their assumed
obligations; the impact of interest rate fluctuations; changes in
the federal income tax laws and regulations; the accuracy of
Athene's interpretation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; litigation
(including class action litigation), enforcement investigations or
regulatory scrutiny; the performance of third parties; the loss of
key personnel; telecommunication, information technology and other
operational systems failures; the continued availability of
capital; new accounting rules or changes to existing accounting
rules; general economic conditions; Athene's ability to protect its
intellectual property; the ability to maintain or obtain approval
of the Delaware Department of Insurance, the Iowa Insurance
Division and other regulatory authorities as required for Athene's
operations; and other factors discussed from time to time in
Athene's filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31,
2019, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly
period ended September 30, 2020 and
its other SEC filings, which can be found at the SEC's website
www.sec.gov.
All forward-looking statements described herein are qualified by
these cautionary statements and there can be no assurance that the
actual results, events or developments referenced herein will occur
or be realized. Athene does not undertake any obligation to update
or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed
assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to
future operating results.
Media
Amanda Carstens Steward
+1 515 342 6473
+1 515 344 6060
asteward@athene.com
Investors
Noah Gunn
+1 441 279 8534
+1 646 768 7309
ngunn@athene.com
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/athene-announces-significant-pension-buyout-agreement-with-ge-301193007.html
SOURCE Athene Holding Ltd.