On September 16, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit hears oral argument in Konya v. Lockheed Martin (No. 25-2061). The question is not whether the company picked a bad insurer. It is whether the retirees are allowed to ask.
That distinction matters to anyone whose pension has been, or could be, handed to an insurance company.
The Transaction Behind the Case
In a pension risk transfer, an employer buys group annuity contracts and moves its pension obligations off its balance sheet. Lockheed Martin moved more than $9 billion of obligations to subsidiaries of Athene Holding, according to Bloomberg Law's account of the district court proceedings.
This is not a niche maneuver. LIMRA reported that single-premium new premium surged 132% to $28 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, and that more than 740,000 defined benefit plan participants were covered by a transfer during that year. Total single-premium PRT assets reached $341.2 billion by the first quarter of 2026.
Six Courts, Two Answers
Since 2024, roughly ten class actions have argued that employers breached ERISA's fiduciary duty by selecting Athene. Almost none have reached that question, because courts keep dividing over standing — whether a retiree still receiving every check on time has suffered an "injury" a federal court can hear.
As Nixon Peabody tallied in August 2026, the district courts have split evenly:
- Standing rejected: Camire (D.D.C., March 2025), Bueno (N.D.N.Y., September 2025), Schoen (W.D. Pa., July 27, 2026)
- Standing sustained: Konya (D. Md., March 2025), Piercy (D. Mass., August 2025), Doherty (S.D.N.Y., September 2025)
Konya is now at the Fourth Circuit; Doherty is briefing at the Second. Nearly identical allegations, opposite results.
The Labor Department Picked a Side
On January 9, 2026, the DOL filed an amicus brief urging the Fourth Circuit to dismiss — its first public position on these transfers since the litigation wave began. The department argued that participants receiving full benefits and alleging no "certainly impending" default lack standing under Thole v. U.S. Bank.
The brief also read down Interpretive Bulletin 95-1, the guidance requiring fiduciaries to select the "safest annuity available." DOL emphasized that the standard is a weighing of six factors, and that a fiduciary may reasonably conclude more than one insurer qualifies as "safest."
Practical Takeaways
- Do not treat litigation as your backstop. In half of these cases, retirees never got past the courthouse door — and the regulator is arguing they shouldn't.
- The notice is your only real decision point. You get advance notice of a transfer, not a vote. That window, not a later lawsuit, is when to read the insurer's ratings and financial disclosures.
- Know your exposed slice. Once annuitized, PBGC coverage ends and state guaranty association limits apply, based on your state of residence. Calculate the portion of your benefit above that limit — that is the number that matters.
- Adjust what you still control. You cannot diversify a pension. You can size the rest of your portfolio's credit and liquidity risk with that concentration in mind.
A ruling in Konya is unlikely before 2027, and a genuine circuit split would push the issue toward the Supreme Court. Until then, the practical answer for retirees is that the protection you have is the one you verify yourself.
Sources: Nixon Peabody, "Schoen v. ATI: a 'close call' dismissal that deepens the pension de-risking split" (August 7, 2026); U.S. Department of Labor News Release EBSA 20260109 (January 9, 2026); Chief Investment Officer, "DOL Amicus Brief Sides With Lockheed in PRT Complaint"; Bloomberg Law, "Lockheed Martin Scores Quick Appeal Over Athene Pension Transfer"; LIMRA, "U.S. Single Premium Pension Risk Transfer Product Sales Jump 132% in the Fourth Quarter of 2025"; LIMRA, "U.S. Pension Risk Transfer Sales Total Nearly $4 Billion in First Quarter 2026"; Gibson Dunn, "Dueling Court Rulings Offer Insight into ERISA Lawsuits Targeting Pension Risk Transfers"
This article is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice.