Milliman analysis: Competitive pension risk transfer cost decreased from 99.7% to 99.6% during June Competitive bidding process saves about 3.0% of buyout costs as of June 30

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 June, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process inched down by 10 basis points, from 99.7% to 99.6% of a plan’s accounting liabilities (accumulated benefit obligation, or ABO). That means the estimated retiree PRT cost is now 99.6% of a plan’s ABO.

During the same time period, the average annuity purchase cost across all insurers in our index climbed by 10 basis points, from 102.5% to 102.6%. The competitive bidding process is estimated to save plan sponsors about 3.0% of PRT costs as of June 30, 2026.

“Competitive buyout costs remained below 100% for the second month in a row, extending the three-year low we saw last month,” said Jake Pringle, co-author of the MPBI. “In other exciting news for plan sponsors, a new insurer announced they are entering the PRT space, the 24^th in the group annuity market.”

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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