GE Is Latest Firm Sued Over Athene-Linked Pension Transfers

General Electric Co. is the latest employer to be hit with a proposed class action challenging its decision to transfer workers out of its pension plan in favor of annuities from a controversial insurance company.

The lawsuit takes aim at a 2020 move in which GE—now operating as GE Aerospace—agreed to transfer more than $1.7 billion in pension obligations to subsidiaries of Athene Holding Ltd., which retirees criticize as being overly risky and improperly connected to private equity. This transaction caused about 70,000 workers to lose the federal protections of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and jeopardized their retirement ...