Athene-Linked Pension Cases Strike at Need for New DOL Guidance

Last year marked a record 773 corporate pension plans that opted to offload their funding liabilities in a practice known as pension risk transfer, a $45 billion premium market expected to grow in 2024. Now, a trio of cases challenging this practice could rattle the industry and put pressure on the US Labor Department to update 30-year-old guidance.

The three lawsuits—two against AT&T Inc. and one against Lockheed Martin Corp.—challenge the companies’ decision to transfer retirement assets to Athene Holding Ltd., a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management Inc. The plaintiffs in the cases describe Athene as “a private-equity ...