Kaplan Fox Announces Investigation of MetLife, Inc.

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (www.kaplanfox.com) is investigating MetLife, Inc. ("MetLife" or the "Company") (NYSE: MET) on behalf of investors who purchased MetLife securities. 

On December 15, 2017, on its Investor Outlook Call, MetLife announced that it was undertaking a review of practices and procedures used to estimate its reserves related to certain Retirement and Income Solutions annuitants who have "been unresponsive or missing over time."  Also on December 15, 2017, in a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form 8-K, the Company disclosed that of the approximately 600,000 members of their "group annuitant population," approximately 5% of those participants have not received their benefits because they "have moved jobs, relocated, or otherwise can no longer be reached via the information provided for them" and that the affected participants "tend to be" those who received $150 or less in monthly benefits.

On December 18, 2017, Reuters reported that the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the New York Department of Financial Services ("NYDFS") were respectively reviewing MetLife's disclosures.  On December 21, 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that MetLife hired a law firm "to investigate how its retirement business failed to aggressively search for possibly tens of thousands of people owed pension benefits and is planning to hire a specialty firm to help locate the people."

On January 29, 2018, after the close of trading, MetLife disclosed that management of the Company has determined that a "prior release of group annuity reserves resulted from a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting", that MetLife expects to increase reserves in total between $525 and $575 million, and that it would delay release of its 2017 fourth quarter and year-end financial results.  In addition to setting aside more reserves for these payments, MetLife said that it "intends to make prior-period revisions to reflect the balance of these adjustments in the appropriate historical periods" and also "correct historical periods for unrelated errors in those periods." However, MetLife asserted, such changes "will not constitute a restatement of previously issued financial statements."  MetLife further disclosed that it is responding to questions from the NYDFS and other state regulators, and that the SEC enforcement staff has made an inquiry regarding this matter and that it is responding to questions. 

On January 30, 2018, MetLife shares declined $4.67 per share or approximately 9%, on heavier than usual volume, to close at $49.73 per share.

For more information about Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP or its investigation of MetLife, you may contact [email protected] or visit our website at www.kaplanfox.com. 

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New Jersey, has decades of experience in prosecuting investor class actions.

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If you have any questions about this press release, please contact:

Jeffrey P. Campisi
KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP
850 Third Avenue; 14^th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(212) 687-1980
(800) 290-1952
[email protected] 
www.kaplanfox.com

SOURCE Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP