NEW YORK, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte and Penbridge Advisors have established a strategic alliance to provide corporate sponsors of U.S. defined benefit pension plans with essential pension risk transfer (PRT) advisory services.

According to Steve Keating, co-founder and principal of Penbridge Advisors, "This collaborative advisor offering, an industry first, will deliver highly coordinated advice at each step of the PRT transaction process." 

"By combining the complementary, deep PRT experience of our two organizations, the alliance of Penbridge Advisors and Deloitte is well-positioned to help plan sponsors objectively address whether and how to pursue PRT," said Jason Flynn, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and national leader of Deloitte's Human Capital Rewards practice. Flynn noted that about $100 billion of corporate pension liabilities was transferred to insurers in the last 30 years, but that a significant portion of the remaining $3 trillion is expected to be transferred in the next five to ten years.

The alliance coordinates advisory responsibilities as follows:

Penbridge Advisors primarily helps plan sponsors evaluate the cost-effectiveness of annuity buyouts relative to other pension de-risking strategies. Its services include PRT pricing and underwriting assessments, executive and board education, ongoing monitoring of buy-out pricing, and the evaluation and comparison of various insurance products and other de-risking alternatives such as lump sums and liability-driven investing solutions.

Deloitte works closely with plan sponsors throughout the annuity placement process, providing comprehensive implementation support. Its services include assistance to plan sponsors with data analysis and cleansing, lump sum payment solicitations, preparation and distribution of annuity provider RFP/RFIs, analysis of insurers and their offerings, conducting competitive bidding processes, finalization of annuity contract and data reconciliation, transition of administration responsibilities, and participant education and communication.

"The combination of Deloitte's experience, scale and capabilities across retirement and risk solutions with Penbridge's singular knowledge of the PRT market and PRT products will be a compelling offering for plan sponsors of all sizes," said Brad Howard, senior manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP and leader in Deloitte's Pension Risk Transfer practice.

Robert Goldbloom, co-founder and principal of Penbridge Advisors added, "We look forward to working with Deloitte to help plan sponsors make an informed decision on PRT and navigate the unique challenges of the PRT transaction process."

About Deloitte
Deloitte helps organizations grow their businesses and enhance value by identifying actionable insights. More than 23,000 professionals provide a broad range of capabilities across human capital, strategy and operations, innovation and technology that are aligned to the particular needs of specific sectors, businesses and organizations. Deloitte provides clients with leading business insights that can help generate a tangible and measurable impact.

About Penbridge Advisors
Penbridge Advisors provides pension plans with information and advisory services on the U.S. pension risk transfer (PRT) market and products. Penbridge provides free access to the industry's only PRT database, currently used by more than 300 plan sponsors and advisory firms. Penbridge's advisory services include plan termination pricing and underwriting assessments and customized buy-out price monitoring services to help plan sponsors decide on PRT strategy and timing. Penbridge also delivers PRT education workshops to corporate boards, C-level executives and pension plan committees. In addition to working with plan sponsors directly, Penbridge partners with select advisory firms to provide coordinated PRT services. Penbridge also supports investment consultants and asset managers in integrating buy-out pricing into their liability-driven investment mandates.

To access the Penbridge PRT database, please visit www.penbridgeadvisors.com/join

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

Contact:
Melissa Doyle
Deloitte
Public Relations
+1 617 585 5886
[email protected]

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SOURCE Deloitte