MetLife

Aimed to streamline what can sometimes be a protracted buy-out process depending on the size and complexity of the scheme, the new “Smaller Scheme Buyout Service” is available to smaller schemes with as low as £5 million in liabilities where Barnett Waddingham has been appointed to advise on the pension risk transfer process.

This partnership between the two companies aims to speed up the key aspects of the process for smaller schemes and to contain costs. Key benefits of the service include:

• Timely quotations – Barnett Waddingham is able to produce indicative quotations based on MetLife Assurance Limited’s pricing on a timely basis, typically in a matter of days rather weeks.
• Expedited process with a competitive buy-out price - If a pension scheme is looking to secure smaller liabilities, particularly where these are less than £20 million, this arrangement offers an expedited process, greater certainty and access to a competitive offer

Paul Jayson, Partner, at Barnett Waddingham commented:

“Whilst 2008 saw an upsurge in the number and size of pension scheme buy-outs, this was not the case at the smaller end of the market. We are delighted to have worked with MetLife Assurance Limited to offer a buy-out service for smaller schemes, which have often struggled to get quotes. Moreover, with less competition at this end of the market, pricing has generally not been as attractive as that seen on some of the larger deals. Our new service aims to address this.”

Dan DeKeizer, Chief Executive, at MetLife Assurance Limited added:

“With this strategic alliance, MetLife Assurance Limited and Barnett Waddingham are working to bring smaller pension schemes the access to the insurance market that their large plan counterparts enjoy. We are pleased to be able to offer trustees and plan sponsors a way to secure guaranteed lifetime annuity benefits for their scheme members.”

London, 5 February 2009 - MetLife Assurance Limited (‘MAL’), an affiliate of MetLife, Inc., the largest US life insurer and a leading provider of employee benefits, today announces it has entered into an agreement with the Vivendi 2008 Pensioners' Scheme to secure its pensioners benefits through a bulk annuity contract.

The agreement came about as result of MAL’s ‘same-day transaction’ model which it introduced following its experience in the US. The model offers trustees the opportunity to enter the buy-out process with greater certainty, an invaluable attribute in today’s volatile market conditions.

MAL’s model means the preparation is now done in the weeks prior to transaction day, including agreeing policy conditions. On the morning of the deal, the values of the pension scheme assets and liabilities are provided and, if the trustees decide to proceed, instructions to transfer assets or pay cash are given that same day.

“Our main concern was to ensure long term security for our pensioners and we agreed that transferring to an insurance company was the best way to manage this,” said Steve Godson, independent trustee of the Vivendi 2008 Pensioners’ Scheme and Director of Capital Cranfield Trustees Limited. “The agreement achieved has meant we were able to formulate the best buy-out strategy for the pension fund and its members, mitigating the risk we see in the current market conditions.”

Jardine Lloyd Thompson, actuaries to the Vivendi 2008 Pensioners' Scheme, advised the Trustee on the selection of the provider and implementation of the contract. Tiziana Perrella, head of buyout services at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, said: “This transaction was particularly challenging due to the tight timescales and critical structure requirements from the Trustee and sponsor. An efficient and pragmatic approach from all the parties involved was required. A willingness to discuss and negotiate the terms being offered led to a satisfactory deal all round being struck. We believe that the final outcome achieved is a very good one for both the Trustee and the members of the scheme."

Amedee Levillain of Zephyrus Partners, who are specialists advisers to Vivendi, commented: “We recognised the current volatile market conditions would make it challenging to meet the exacting brief particularly as an asset sale and in-specie transfer was required. We worked hard with MetLife Assurance to develop a transaction model where, following robust discussions, we were able to secure pricing, asset valuations and contract language all on the same day, ensuring no surprises and a safe, competitive solution for Vivendi.”

Dan DeKeizer, Chief Executive, MetLife Assurance, said, “This agreement confirms that despite unprecedented market volatility, there is still strong demand from trustees to find the right solution to secure their pensioner’s benefits. We are delighted to have developed a solution that puts trustees in a position to enter the buy-out process with greater certainty.”

London, 4 November 2008 - MetLife Assurance Limited (‘MAL’), an affiliate of MetLife, Inc., the largest US life insurer and a leading provider of employee benefits, today reveals that trustees are still planning to opt for a buyout regardless of current market volatility.

Emma Watkins, Business Development Manager said, “These findings demonstrate the continued appetite for buyouts despite financial markets.  We know trustees and employers will want to ensure they are making diligent decisions at all times and particularly so during times of market volatility. Thus the move to buyout will have been carefully considered over a period of time.

“Those trustees that have been preparing through derisking strategies will be the ones less affected and therefore the ones most likely to continue to proceed.  Those that haven't considered buyout up until now will recognise the benefit of reducing risk, particularly having been affected so recently by market movements. Even those that can’t afford to transfer risk now will almost certainly see the benefit of doing so in the future and may consider buy in as a transitional step.”

MetLife is conducting further trustee research – to complete the survey and for the chance to win a fantastic Christmas hamper go to www.engaged-investors.com.

London, 26 August 2008 -- MetLife Assurance Limited (‘MAL’), an affiliate of MetLife, Inc., the largest US life insurer and a leading provider of employee benefits, has today announced the appointment of Dan DeKeizer, a senior MetLife executive, as Chief Executive Officer of its UK pension liability transfer business, which includes bulk annuity buy-outs.

An actuary, Dan DeKeizer has held several senior leadership roles during 19 years with MetLife both in the US and overseas. Most recently he held a senior position in MetLife’s Retirement Strategies Group, based in New York, where he was responsible for financial, capital and risk management issues as well as product strategy and development. Other roles have included Chief Financial Officer for MetLife Iberia in Spain, followed by two years in MetLife’s Corporate Risk Management area where he led the development of risk analytics for the enterprise.

The company is also pleased to announce the hiring of Emma Watkins, who will serve as MAL’s new Business Development Manager, responsible for strengthening relationships with trustees, employers, plan sponsors and benefits consultants, identifying new business opportunities, managing the business pipeline and securing transactions. Emma also currently serves as the Deputy Chair of Raising Standards of Trustee Education. She has over 10 years experience in the pensions market, where she has held positions with ACE Europe as the Trustee Liability Product Manager and, prior to that, with Hazell Carr Pensions Consulting and Prudential, where she had operational and client management responsibilities for multi-disciplined operational, defined benefit administration and pension technical areas.

These appointments will position MetLife’s UK pension liability management business for continued growth. The announcement follows the transfer in recent months to MetLife several defined benefit pension schemes from UK companies. MetLife Assurance Limited has an AA- Standard & Poor’s Counter-party and Financial Strength rating and a strong capital position sufficient to support significant and rapid growth.

William Mullaney, President of MetLife Inc.’s Institutional Business said, “We welcome Dan and Emma to their new roles and look forward to leveraging their leadership to maximise the considerable business opportunities that exist in the UK pension risk management market. The plan buy-outs sector in particular is growing rapidly and that is expected to continue in the medium term.”

“As a major global insurance company, MetLife is uniquely positioned in both the UK and the US to provide annuity based products to institutional plan sponsors, especially as market events have highlighted the need for guaranteed products in the pension scheme market. MetLife is a company that has been making and keeping promises to plan sponsors and their participants for nearly 90 years. In fact, we wrote the first US group annuity contract to insure a defined benefit pension plan in 1921. Insurance products and the individual guarantees that come with them are paramount in protecting plan participants' interests, should their employers transfer the liabilities of their plan. We are seeing a flight to quality by plan sponsors who are seeking capital strength and best practice infrastructure from bulk buy-out providers.”

Dan DeKeizer, Chief Executive Officer, MetLife Assurance Limited said, “I look forward to the opportunities ahead. We are a well-capitalised specialist with a thorough understanding of longevity and investment risks, underpinned by the considerable resources and heritage of our parent company.”

“While there are significant differences between the UK bulk annuities market and the US pension risk management market, particularly when it comes to the regulatory structure, we believe that there are some overwhelming similarities. These include the importance of managing liabilities for the growing lifetimes of today’s and tomorrow’s pensioners; a commitment to the value of guaranteed lifetime income for our customers; the role of private equity in business combinations and the potential effect that this has on pension plans; and, the gradual convergence on accounting practices moving towards marking liabilities to market.”

MAL is an affiliate of US-based MetLife, Inc., a leading global insurance and financial services organisation which counts the US’s largest life insurer among its subsidiaries. The organisation is renowned for its stability, financial strength and security, and as of 30th June 2008 had over $555.8 billion (around £298 billion) of total assets.