The Prudential Insurance Company of America has taken on $600 million of liabilities from the pension plan of US vehicle components maker Timken.
The deal covers 5,000 pensioners and is the first major de-risking deal to be made public by a US pension in 2015.
Prudential will begin paying pensions from April, a statement from Timken said.
“When finalized, this annuity purchase will reduce The Timken Company’s gross pension liability by about $600 million,” the company said.
The pension risk transfer follows payments of nearly $2 billion from Timken to its various global pensions over the past 10 years, Timken’s statement added, which had helped ensure the US plans were fully funded.
Prudential and its subsidiaries backed a number of de-risking deals in 2015, most notably the record-breaking £16 billion longevity swap transaction with the BT Pension Scheme in July.
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