MetLife Says DOL Lacks Power to Subpoena Group Annuity Contracts

MetLife Inc. is accusing the U.S. Labor Department of overstepping its regulatory bounds when it subpoenaed and later filed suit against the company for records related to its mishandling of annuity distributions.

The company filed its response to that lawsuit Wednesday, saying the Labor Department doesn’t have jurisdiction over group annuity contracts and that the documents it has requested wouldn’t help investigators suss out violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The case hinges on MetLife’s “de-risking” business—the process of converting employer-sponsored pensions into group annuity plans. The company in 2019 admitted in separate state and federal investigations that ...