FedEx To Buy Group Annuity Contract From Metropolitan Life

(RTTNews) - FedEx Corp. (FDX) Tuesday said it agreed to buy a group annuity contract and transfer about $6 billion of the company's U.S. pension plan obligations to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

The transaction will transfer responsibility for pension benefits to Metropolitan Life for around 41,000 FedEx retirees and beneficiaries who satisfy certain conditions and currently receive a monthly benefit from participating FedEx tax-qualified U.S. domestic pension plans.

The deal is expected to close on May 10, 2018.

"FedEx is committed to maintaining financially secure pension benefits for our retirees and their beneficiaries," said Alan Graf, Jr., executive vice president and CFO, FedEx Corp. "This transaction better positions FedEx to manage future pension plan costs, and retirees will receive the same pension benefit from a highly rated insurance company."