MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2018--
Materion Corporation (NYSE: MTRN or Materion) today announced that it
has entered into an agreement to purchase a group annuity contract from
Mutual of America Life Insurance Company (Mutual of America) to settle
approximately $111 million of Materion’s $256 million in outstanding
U.S. pension obligations.
Under the agreement, Mutual of America will assume the obligation to pay
future pension benefits starting January 1, 2019, for specified U.S.
retirees, beneficiaries, and other participants who are currently in
payment status and commenced payments on or before June 1, 2018.
“We’re pleased to partner with Mutual of America to secure pension
benefits for our participants,” said Jugal Vijayvargiya, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Materion Corporation. “After a competitive
search process, we selected Mutual of America based on their commitment
to providing quality customer service, their financial strength and
rating, and ability to administer plan payments.”
John R. Greed, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mutual
of America, added: “Americans are living longer than ever and we
recognize that they are increasingly concerned about outliving their
retirement savings. With that in mind, we are pleased that Materion
Corporation has placed its trust in Mutual of America to oversee the
pension benefits for their approximately 1,150 U.S. retirees,
beneficiaries, and other participants. As with all of our customers, we
are committed to helping these individuals as they seek a financially
secure retirement.”
The purchase will be funded by existing plan assets, requires no cash
contribution, and removes approximately 43% of Materion’s U.S. pension
obligation, while still maintaining funding levels well above minimum
requirements for the remaining pension obligations. Materion expects to
incur a non-cash, non-operating pension settlement charge of
approximately $41 million in the fourth quarter related to expensing
unamortized actuarial losses.
The purchase of this group annuity contract allows Materion to secure
pension benefits for approximately 1,150 participants in payment status
and reduce volatility in pension costs and funding requirements.
Materion has and will continue to be committed to meeting its pension
obligations responsibly.
The annuity purchase will not impact the monthly pension benefits
currently being paid to participants. The group annuity contract
includes an irrevocable commitment by Mutual of America to make annuity
payments to affected participants covered under the contract.
Materion Corporation is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
Materion, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, supplies highly
engineered advanced enabling materials to global markets. Products
include precious and non-precious specialty metals, inorganic chemicals
and powders, specialty coatings, specialty engineered beryllium alloys,
beryllium and beryllium composites, and engineered clad and plated metal
systems.
Mutual of America has specialized in providing retirement products and
related services to organizations and their employees, as well as
individuals, for over 70 years. As a mutual company, it does not have
stockholders and is not publicly traded. Mutual of America operates
solely for the benefit of its customers, managing the company for their
long-term interest, rather than for the short-term demands of
stockholders.
Mutual of America is a leading provider of retirement products, offering
personalized service at a competitive price to help plan participants
and individuals build and preserve assets for a financially secure
future. Integrity, prudence, and reliability are the values that have
guided the company since its inception and that continue to serve the
company well. For more information regarding Mutual of America, please
visit its website at mutualofamerica.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181105005463/en/
Source: Materion Corporation
Materion Corporation
Investors:
Stephen
F. Shamrock, 216-383-4010
stephen.shamrock@materion.com
or
Media:
John
G. McCloskey, 216-383-6835
john.mccloskey@materion.com
https://materion.com
Mayfield
Hts-g