MetLife Inc. agreed to pay a $1 million administrative fine to settle allegations that it made materially misleading statements in public filings to investors and failed to pay pension benefits to tens of thousands of retirees it improperly treated as "presumed dead."

The settlement, which Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced Dec. 19, also calls for MetLife to provide payments, with interest, to hundreds of Massachusetts retirees and beneficiaries.

Galvin's office filed an administrative complaint against MetLife after the company disclosed in December 2017 that it failed to make payments to certain retirees.

"Our focus since we self-identified and self-reported this issue has been to enhance our processes so that we deliver better service to our customers. This settlement is in line with that focus," a MetLife spokesperson said in an email to S&P Global Market Intelligence.