Voya Enters Arrangement to Provide Pension Benefits to Chemtura Retirees and Plan Beneficiaries

PR Newswire

WINDSOR, Conn., Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company ("Voya"), a member of the Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) family of companies, announced today that it has entered an agreement to provide pension payments to approximately 5,000 retirees and beneficiaries currently covered under the Chemtura Corporation Retirement Plan. The transaction, known as a pension risk transfer arrangement, will enable Chemtura to better manage its pension obligations by shifting the responsibility for these payments over to Voya. In exchange for Voya taking on this financial obligation, Chemtura will purchase a group annuity contract representing approximately $350 million in premiums to be paid to Voya.

Beginning on May 1, 2016, Voya will start making the pension payments to retirees and beneficiaries of the plan. Individuals will continue to receive their same monthly benefits. They will experience no other changes except that the payments will come from Voya instead of Chemtura.

"We are pleased that Chemtura has placed its trust in Voya to help support the thousands of retirees and pension plan beneficiaries who rely on these important benefits for their retirement income," said Rick Mason, president of Small / Mid Corporate and Institutional Investment Markets at Voya Financial. "As the retirement landscape continues to evolve, many employers with traditional defined benefit plans are looking to reduce the uncertainty associated with managing these programs. With our established administrative and investment capabilities and a long history of serving institutions and individuals with retirement solutions, Voya is well positioned to support the expanding pension risk transfer market. We are able to leverage the best practices from our other businesses and the experience we have working with all types of employers, advisors and participants."

The announcement caps off an active year for Voya in the pension risk transfer market. This involves several noteworthy transactions in 2015, including one in excess of $500 million in premiums for Voya. With the increase in defined benefit plan de-risking activities, Voya views the pension risk transfer market as having natural synergies with its various businesses. As one of the largest workplace retirement plan providers in the country, clients can benefit from Voya's industry-leading administrative platform and its world class call center capabilities. Voya is currently focused on pension risk transfer opportunities to help small and mid-sized employers and their workforces.

As an industry leader and advocate for greater retirement readiness, Voya Financial is committed to delivering on its vision to be America's Retirement Company^TM and its mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time.

Media Contact:
Joe LoparcoVoya Financial
Office: (860) 580-2677
Cell: (860) 462-6525
Joseph.Loparco@voya.com

About Voya Financial^®Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings — to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 13 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya Financial is a Fortune 500 company that had $11 billion in revenue in 2015. The company had $452 billion in total assets under management and administration as of Dec. 31, 2015. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time — Voya Financial's vision is to be America's Retirement Company™. The company is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible — Voya Financial has been recognized as one of the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies™ by the Ethisphere Institute, and as one of the Top Green Companies in the U.S., by Newsweek magazine. For more information, visit voya.com or view the company's 2014 annual report. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook and Twitter @Voya.