# AK Steel Pension Trust Fund

AK Steel Pension Trust Fund is a Pension Fund based in Cleveland, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Cleveland, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Cleveland, OH, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The AK Steel Pension Trust Fund is the legacy defined-benefit vehicle for retired workers of AK Steel Corporation, the storied Middletown, Ohio steelmaker founded in 1899. When Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. completed its acquisition of AK Steel in March 2020 for approximately $1.1 billion in stock, it assumed responsibility for the pension plan and its obligations. The plan is now a closed block of liabilities within the broader Cleveland-Cliffs benefits structure, administered from the combined company's headquarters in Cleveland. The trust's investment portfolio is structured to manage mature pension liabilities. Asset-class exposure historically includes fixed income designed to match liability duration, alongside an allocation to real estate equity. Public filings and plan documents have referenced holdings in a Strategic Real Estate Fund Portfolio and a Group Annuity Contract — the latter a common tool for pension risk transfer, used to offload a portion of future benefit obligations to an insurance carrier. The plan has also sought external investment management services, as documented in board meeting materials from its time as a standalone entity. In September 2023, Cleveland-Cliffs completed a pension-risk transfer transaction, purchasing a group annuity contract from an insurer to transfer a block of pension liabilities from the AK Steel plan and other legacy plans. The firm's CFO, Celso Goncalves, has emphasized the objective of de-risking the balance sheet and reducing pension volatility. What remains of the trust is a runoff portfolio, managed not for growth but for the orderly settlement of obligations that date back to the golden age of integrated steel production in the Midwest. The structural differentiator is straightforward: this is not a going-concern pension with active participants and a long-duration return-seeking posture. It is a legacy trust in runoff, consolidated into a larger industrial company and progressively wound down through annuity buyouts. Any institutional analysis must recognize the shrinking asset base and the plan's diminishing capacity to make new commitments. The AK Steel Foundation, a separate philanthropic entity tied to the company's history, continues to operate in the Ohio community.

## People

- Lourenco Goncalves — Chairman, President, and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (plan sponsor)
- Celso Goncalves — Executive Vice President and CFO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (plan sponsor)

## Questions

### Is the plan still open to new participants?

No. The plan is closed. It is a legacy defined-benefit plan covering retired employees of AK Steel. The acquisition by Cleveland-Cliffs did not reopen the plan, and the combined company has prioritized de-risking and settling these legacy obligations through strategies like pension-risk transfer annuity purchases rather than continuing to accrue new benefits.

### What is the known investment strategy of the trust?

The strategy is liability-driven. As a mature, closed plan, the trust's portfolio tilts toward fixed-income assets that match the duration of its benefit obligations. It has also held real estate exposure through a Strategic Real Estate Fund Portfolio. Most critically, the trust has utilized group annuity contracts — a form of pension-risk transfer — to move a portion of its liabilities off the plan's books entirely, converting them to guaranteed income from an insurance carrier.

### How is the AK Steel Foundation related to the pension trust?

The AK Steel Foundation is a separate philanthropic entity from the pension trust. It was historically funded by AK Steel Corporation to support community organizations, particularly in the company's operating areas in Ohio. While the foundation shares a corporate parent in Cleveland-Cliffs, its assets and mission are distinct from the pension plan's investment portfolio, which is governed by ERISA and dedicated solely to participant benefits.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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