Pension plan buyout sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 were the highest since the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a recent study.
In “Pension Plan Annuity Purchase Update – Q4 2019” River and Mercantile reports that pension buyouts amounted to more than $11.3 billion in the final quarter of last year. Those figures are 6% higher than during the same period one year before. Not only that, they say, the fourth quarter sales in 2019 were the highest quarterly total in pension buyouts since the fourth quarter of 2012.
Not only did pension buyout sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 exceed those of the fourth quarter of 2018, River and Mercantile says, so did the sales for the entire year.
Changes in Pension Plan Buyouts, 2018-2019
| Measure | 2019 Level | Change from 2018 |
| Total pension buyout sales | $28 billion | +5% |
| Buyout contracts | 501 | +2% |
Enter 2020
Plan termination buyouts have been numerous, River and Mercantile says, reporting that the first quarter has been “full of plan termination buyouts.” They attribute this to plan sponsors and consultants waiting to pursue such transactions at a time when there would be more favorable prices for annuities than when sales were brisk in the fourth quarter.
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