Athene pays $45 mln fine in first settlement of NY pension transfer probe
Athene Holding Ltd ATH.N agreed on Monday to pay a $45 million civil fine to settle charges it conducted insurance business in New York without a license, the first settlement in a probe into an industry where life insurers take over corporate pension plans.
Linda Lacewell, superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, said Athene’s unlicensed Athene Annuity & Life unit conducted 14 large pension risk transfer transactions covering tens of thousands of policy holders, and engaged in thousands of unauthorized communications with plan sponsors.
“Protection of New Yorkers’ retirement plans is more important than ever in this vulnerable economy,” Lacewell said in a statement. “Unlicensed insurance activity puts retirement assets at risk and that’s why we won’t tolerate it.” In a typical pension risk transfer, a life insurer takes on a pension plan’s assets and liabilities, and writes a group annuity contract obligating it to pay participants.
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