(Reuters) - 3M said on Thursday it would transfer about $2.5 billion of its U.S. pension payment obligations and related plan assets for nearly 23,000 U.S. retirees and beneficiaries to Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance.

Met Tower Life will begin paying and administering the retirement benefits included in the transfer on Oct. 1.

3M added it expects to recognize an estimated pension settlement charge of between $800 million and $900 million in the quarter ending June 30.

The contract, which represents about 60% of Early Retirement Incentive Plan (ERIP) retirees, required no additional funding, the company said.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)