Verizon Communications Inc. is transferring about $7.5 billion in pension obligations, or one-fourth of the total, to Prudential Financial Inc. in a drive to remove risk from its balance sheet.

Prudential, the second-largest U.S. life insurer, will take on responsibility for making future annuity payments to certain management retirees of the New York-based telephone company, Verizon said yesterday in a statement.

Verizon is using the agreement to lower risks related to pensions while improving its financial profile. It follows General Motors Co. in paying Prudential to assume the risk that market returns are inadequate or that beneficiaries live longer than expected. Transferring obligations can reduce swings in earnings tied to securities and relieve companies of the need to manage large pools of money.