94% of U.S. Pension Plan Sponsors Plan Full Liability Transfers Within Five Years — Evening Brief – 10.09.25
U.S. corporations are accelerating efforts to offload pension obligations, as defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors respond to heightened market volatility and a more favorable funding and pricing environment, according to MetLife’s 2025 Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) Poll. A record 94% of plan sponsors with de-risking goals say they intend to fully divest their pension liabilities—and 80% plan to complete that process within the next five years.
The report highlights a sharp evolution in corporate pension management. Once viewed as a niche strategy, pension risk transfer has become a mainstream balance sheet tool, supported by stronger plan funding ratios and the availability of more flexible transaction structures. Nearly all respondents (94%) said their pension plans are receiving increased attention from senior management due to the financial impact of market volatility—identified as the top trigger for pursuing PRT (45%), followed closely by interest rate changes (41%).
“We’re seeing a new era of strategic pension stewardship,” said Elizabeth Walsh, VP and Head of U.S. Pensions at MetLife. “Plan sponsors are taking action—leveraging flexible deal structures and favorable market conditions to deliver long-term security for their participants.”
The PRT market has grown exponentially from under $14 billion in annual transaction volume in 2015 to nearly $52 billion in 2024, according to LIMRA, with projections reaching $100 billion by 2030. The market’s expansion is supported by innovations such as split deals and reinsurance structures, which enhance capacity and diversify risk. There are now over 20 active insurers, twice the number from a decade ago, intensifying competition and improving pricing dynamics for plan sponsors.
Plan sponsors are also demonstrating greater operational readiness. Data cleansing—improving participant data quality—has become the top preparatory step, cited by 62% of respondents, while 48% reported increasing plan contributions to position for transfer.
The preferred de-risking method has also shifted dramatically. In 2015, fewer than half (46%) of plan sponsors considered annuity buyouts as a primary or combined solution; today, that figure has surged to 78%, reflecting broader confidence in the insurance sector’s ability to assume large-scale liabilities. The average liability size among surveyed sponsors planning to transfer stands at $608 million, with an average funded status of 93%.
Fielded between August 8 and August 27, 2025, MetLife’s PRT Poll surveyed 231 U.S. DB plan sponsors with $100 million or more in plan assets and active de-risking strategies.