About thirty percent of General Motors salaried retirees opted for a lump sum payment in lieu of monthly pension checks, the Detroit Free Press reports. The automaker offered a lump-sum buyout to about 42,000 retirees and surviving spouses, in a move it says will eliminate $29 billion of pension liabilities from its balance sheet

Retirees that didn't take the lump sum will get their monthly checks from Prudential Insurance. General Motors said it will close the transaction in which Prudential will assume responsibility for those payments this month.

General Motors was one of the first companies to offer a lump-sum payout to retirees, so there was considerable interest in what kind of take-up the company would get. Other companies that have announced similar moves in the wake of GM's offer include TRW, Verizon and Visteon.