Principal Financial Group today announced it has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of global investment firm Sixth Street and its insurance platform, Talcott Resolution, to reinsure Principal’s in-force U.S. retail fixed annuity and universal life insurance with secondary guarantee (ULSG) blocks of business. Under the terms of the transaction, the Talcott affiliate will reinsure about $25 billion of liabilities, comprising $16 billion and $9 billion of retail fixed annuity and ULSG liabilities, respectively, from Principal. Principal will continue to service and administer the policies of the reinsured blocks of business. The Des Moines-based insurer said it expects deployable proceeds of about $800 million upon closing the transaction and through additional transactions designed to improve the capital efficiency of its in-force individual life insurance business. Principal plans to return the proceeds to shareholders through share repurchases. In connection with today’s announcement, Principal’s board of directors has approved a $1.6 billion increase to the $1.1 billion that remains available under the company’s existing share repurchase authorization as of Dec. 31. 2021, resulting in an aggregate share repurchase amount of $2.7 billion. Additionally, Principal has increased its share repurchase target for 2022 from a range of $800 million to $1 billion to a range of $2 billion to $2.3 billion. “We are focused on improving capital efficiency and strengthening Principal to win, grow, and create long-term shareholder value,” said Dan Houston, chairman, president, and CEO of Principal. “We conducted a comprehensive process designed to optimize the value of these blocks, while improving our overall risk profile and reducing the capital requirements of our portfolio. At close, these transactions, along with strong operating performance, enables a significant increase to our share repurchase program, while supporting our ability to invest in growth, serve our customers, and lead in higher growth markets.”