"The new SOA projections also will be adopted over the next few years by federal regulatory agencies that oversee pensions and will require plan sponsors to increase funding levels to meet expected rising obligations. That, in turn, likely will accelerate a major trend among plan sponsors to adopt de-risking strategies. Sometimes, that simply means reducing equity exposure in plan portfolios. But it also can mean offering lump-sum buyouts to retirees and former workers, or transferring their obligations to private insurance companies by buying huge group annuities to pay out benefits."