Pension buy-in sales up, PRT sales down in mixed Q3, LIMRA reports

The pension risk transfer market showed its unpredictability during the third quarter as LIMRA reported strong buy-in sales amid weaker pension risk transfer data.

Single-premium buy-in sales jumped 328% in the third quarter to $4.3 billion, according to LIMRA’s U.S. Group Annuity Risk Transfer Sales Survey. It is the highest quarterly sales for buy-in products recorded.

In a buy-in, plan sponsors purchase an annuity contract from an insurer that is held by the pension plan as an asset while liabilities remain on the plan sponsor’s balance sheet.

Third-quarter pension risk transfer sales fell 32% over the year-ago quarter. The results were 137% higher than the second-quarter results. In the third quarter, total PRT new premium was $10.6 billion. For the year, total PRT sales were $21.6 billion, down 48% year over year.

“While the jumbo market has been quiet in 2025, we are seeing significant activity with small contracts. More than 80% of the contracts sold this year were less than $50 million, signaling broader market interest in these pension liability mitigation solutions,” said Keith Golembiewski, assistant vice president, head of LIMRA Annuity Research. “Although this year’s sales will likely remain below the record sales set in 2024, this is a very cyclical market. More carriers have entered the market, which has expanded market capacity and increased opportunities to engage small and mid-sized plan sponsors. This will ultimately boost PRT sales in future years.”

In total, there were 183 contracts sold in the third quarter, 12% lower than the prior year’s results. In the first three quarters of 2025, PRT carriers sold 441 contracts, 18% below the number of contracts sold in the same period of 2024.

"The industry has been facing a perfect storm – market volatility, escalating trade wars, the threat of a recession and elevated litigation concerns," said Paula Cole, head of PRT for Nationwide. "These challenges persisted into the third quarter, causing many plan sponsors to wait to make any de-risking moves, leading to a drop in industry activity."

Buy-out sales fall, too

Single-premium buy-out sales fell 60% to $5.2 billion in the third quarter but were 39% higher than second-quarter results. There were 178 buy-out contracts in the third quarter, 12% lower than the third quarter of 2024. For the year, there were 431 buy-out contracts totaling nearly $16 billion, representing a 56% sales decline.

There were five single-premium buy-in contracts reported in the third quarter. In the first nine months of 2025, new buy-in premium totaled $4.7 billion, up 43%. YTD, U.S. carriers reported 10 buy-in contracts. This is an 11% increase year over year.

Single premium buy-out assets reached $308.6 billion in the third quarter, 18% higher than the prior year. Single premium buy-in assets were $10.4 billion for the quarter, up 16% from the third quarter of 2024. Combined, total PRT assets totaled $319 billion, representing a 7% year-over-year increase.

A group annuity risk transfer product, such as a pension buy-out product, allows an employer to transfer all or a portion of its pension liability to an insurer. In doing so, an employer can remove the liability from its balance sheet and reduce the volatility of the funded status.

Many of the market factors impacting the PRT market in 2025 will still be there in 2026, Cole said.

"Lingering market volatility, the risk of a recession and ongoing interest rate cuts do have the potential to decrease pension funding, leaving plan sponsors with fewer de-risking options," she said.

Additionally, several lawsuits regarding PRT providers are still pending in the legal system.

The LIMRA survey represents 100% of the U.S. Pension Risk Transfer market.

This report compiled by InsuranceNewsNet staff.