MetLife, Brighthouse Sued Over $500M Annuity Biz, Lost Clients (1)

MetLife Inc. and its annuity and life insurance arm Brighthouse Financial Inc. are in the crosshairs of a new lawsuit challenging the conversion of more than $500 million in retirement benefits over the past 25 years, which allegedly deprived 30,000 retirees of their income.

MetLife systematically took ownership of the retirees’ annuity assets, ultimately releasing more than $500 million in reserves that belonged to them and taking the money for itself, according to a lawsuit filed June 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. MetLife acknowledged that for the past 25 years, it failed ...