THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. (NYSE:HIG) Files An 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

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THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. (NYSE:HIG) Files An 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On June 23, 2017, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (the
Company) entered into a commitment agreement (the Agreement) by and
among the Company, The Prudential Insurance Company of America
(Prudential), and State Street Global Advisors Trust Company
(“State Street”), an independent fiduciary to The Hartford
Retirement for U.S. Employees (the Plan). to the Agreement, the
Plan will purchase a group annuity contract from Prudential and
transfer to Prudential the future pension benefit obligations and
annuity administration for certain retirees and former employees
with vested pension benefits (or their beneficiaries) (Transferred
Participants).
Upon issuance of the group annuity contract, the pension benefit
obligations for approximately 16,000 Transferred Participants will
be transferred to Prudential, which will guarantee the pension
benefits of the Transferred Participants. By transferring the
obligations to Prudential, the Company will reduce its approximate
$5.6 billion in U.S. qualified pension plan liabilities by
approximately $1.6 billion, or 29%. The purchase of the group
annuity contract will be funded directly by the Plan’s assets.
The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions for
these types of commitment agreements. Assuming all of the closing
conditions are met, the Company expects the transactions
contemplated under the Agreement to be completed by June 30, 2017.
All Transferred Participants will continue to receive their
benefits from the Plan until November 1, 2017, at which time
Prudential will assume responsibility for administrative and
customer service support, including distribution of payments to the
Transferred Participants.
The foregoing description does not purport to be complete and is
qualified in its entirety by the provisions of the Agreement, which
will be filed with the Company’s quarterly report for the quarter
ended June 30, 2017.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure
On June 26, 2017, the Company issued a press release announcing
that it entered into the Agreement described in Item 1.01 above.
The press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K.
The information furnished in Exhibit 99.1 shall not be deemed filed
for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended (the Exchange Act), or otherwise subject to the
liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be
incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as
may be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Item 8.01 Other Events
As a result of the transactions described under Item 1.01 above,
the Company expects to recognize in second quarter 2017 a pension
settlement charge to net income of approximately $485 million,
after-tax, and a reduction to stockholders equity of
approximately $140 million, or $0.37 per diluted share based on
March 31, 2017 shares outstanding.
In order to maintain the Plans pre-transaction funded status, the
Company intends to make a contribution of approximately $300
million to the Plan by year-end 2017.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Some of the statements in this release may be considered
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.>>These forward-looking
statements include statements relating to the financial impact of
the purchase of the group annuity contract, including, without
limitation, the reduction to the pension benefit liability, the
funding status of and future contribution to the Plan, the
settlement charge to net income, and the impact to stockholders
equity, and are based on current expectations and assumptions. We
caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ
materially. Investors should consider the important risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These
important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our
2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on
Forms 10-Q, and the other filings we make with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this
release, which speaks as of the date issued.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
EXHIBITS
Exhibits
Description
99.1
Press Release dated June 26, 2017



HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC/DE Exhibit
EX-99.1 2 ex991newsrelease.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 Exhibit NEWS RELEASE The Hartford Reduces Pension Liabilities By $1.6 Billion Company to purchase group annuity contract from Prudential to transfer responsibility for pension benefits for approximately 16,…
To view the full exhibit click here
About THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. (NYSE:HIG)

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is a holding company for insurance and financial services subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Commercial Lines, which provides workers’ compensation, property, automobile, marine, livestock, liability and umbrella coverages primarily throughout the United States; Personal Lines, which provides automobile, homeowners and personal umbrella coverages to individuals across the United States; Group Benefits, which provides group life, accident and disability coverage, and other products and services; Property & Casualty Other Operations, which includes certain property and casualty operations; Mutual Funds, which provides investment management, administration, product distribution and related services to investors; Talcott Resolution, which consists of the run-off of the Company’s the United States individual and institutional annuity, and Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) businesses, and Corporate.

THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. (NYSE:HIG) Recent Trading Information

THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. (NYSE:HIG) closed its last trading session up +0.50 at 51.95 with 2,143,452 shares trading hands.