Millions of retirees are expecting to get a company pension check for the rest of their lives. Increasingly, the name on it is likely to be an insurance company, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary today. The reason is a growing business called pension-risk transfer, in which employers with old-fashioned pension plans, such as General Motors Co., cut deals with insurers to take responsibility for retirees’ monthly benefit. The movement is expected over time to transform the management of pensions for employers, which can slash their exposure to the volatility of the stock and bond markets, as well as for the insurance industry, which gains a source of growth at a time when some traditional businesses are slipping.
