Prudential Q4 profit up 22% on surge in pension-risk transfers

New York

FOR many large companies, the pension promises that were made years ago to employees became a large and distracting headache. For Prudential Financial Inc, these retirement plans are a pathway to growth.

Account values at the retirement unit climbed by US$17 billion in 2016 to US$386 billion as at Dec 31, the Newark, New Jersey-based company said on Wednesday in a statement. That helped Prudential's fourth-quarter operating profit climb 22 per cent to US$1.09 billion.