PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 28
PLAN DESIGN | DEFINED BENEFITS
From Volatility to Stability
Nontraditional DB plans lessen sponsor risk while guaranteeing income
W
hat often comes to mind when
traditional defined benefit
(DB) plans are discussed is
their decline; many companies have been
closing or freezing their plan, or offloading
the financial obligations through a
pension risk transfer (PRT) transaction.
The presumption of their demise may
not, however, be true. Richard Hudson,
a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries
(FSA) and consulting actuary with First
Actuarial Consulting Inc. (FACT) in New
York City, says some plan sponsors have
started new DB plans. The interest is
in DB plan design that evolved past the
traditional final-average-pay pension and
that offers the sponsoring company more
financial certainty.
Some DB plan designs have eliminated
the reasons employers get rid of
their DB plan, says John Lowell, Atlantabased
actuary and a partner in October
Three Consulting. The traditional plans
have substantial variability and volatility,
as they are sensitive to plan liabilities, he
says. " If employers are looking for stability,
traditional plans are not the answer. "
Sponsors that want to offer, or want
to continue offering, a DB plan but worry
about the negatives might consider one of
the nontraditional plan designs.
From a funding perspective, this
28 PLANSPONSOR.COM February - March 2021 Art by Camilla Zaza
generation of DB plans is a bit simpler,
says Richard J. Bottell Jr., principal and
a consulting actuary at Milliman in New
York City. Plan sponsors still need to
perform the mechanical actuarial calculations,
solve the accounting minimum
funding requirements, and meet the
requirements for reporting and compliance,
he says, " but the advantage of a
nontraditional DB plan, typically, to a
plan sponsor is there's a strong argument
to be made that they're always
funded. That's an attraction. That uncertainty
as to the ability to fund [pension
plans'] underlying promise drives boards
of directors absolutely crazy. "
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021
Service for a Crowd
2020 PLANSPONSOR Best in Class 401(k) Plans
Shelter From a Storm
From Volatility to Stability
Are Annuities Good for All?
Regrowth Factor
When 'Herding' Helps
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Service for a Crowd
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 18
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 2020 PLANSPONSOR Best in Class 401(k) Plans
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Shelter From a Storm
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - From Volatility to Stability
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 30
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Are Annuities Good for All?
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Regrowth Factor
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - When 'Herding' Helps
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 38
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 40
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - Cover4
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/may_june_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/january_february_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_october_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/july_august_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/may_june_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2022_february_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/excellenceawards_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april_may_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february_march_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2021_january_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2018-january_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2017-january_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com