Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer cost declines to 100.1% during October

Competitive bidding process saves about 3.2% of buyout costs as of October 31

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the latest results of its Milliman Pension Buyout Index (MPBI). During October, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process decreased from 100.5% to 100.1% of a plan’s accounting liabilities (accumulated benefit obligation, or ABO). That means the estimated retiree PRT cost is now 100.1% of a plan’s ABO.

During the same time period, the average annuity purchase cost across all insurers in our index decreased from 103.6% to 103.3%. The competitive bidding process is estimated to save plan sponsors about 3.2% of PRT costs as of October 31, 2025.

“RTX announced a $2.5 billion transaction this month, coming in as the largest PRT deal of the year so far,” said Jake Pringle, Milliman principal and co-author of the MPBI. “With the competitive MPBI back down to just over 100%, this is a positive sign for plan sponsors with pension risk transfer on their agenda.”

The MPBI compares the FTSE Above Median AA Curve to the annuity purchase composite interest rates from nine insurers to estimate the competitive and average costs of a PRT annuity de-risking strategy. Individual plan annuity buyouts can vary based on plan size, complexity, and competitive landscape.

View the complete Milliman Pension Buyout Index. To receive regular updates with Milliman’s pension buyout analysis, contact us at [e-mail].

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