PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 20

2024 DEFINED BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION SURVEY
TIME TO
THE DB PLAN
A
timely confluence of higher interest
rates and robust equity markets
has led many private sector U.S.
employers to have more assets than liabilities
in their defined benefit pension plans.
This development is offering a range
of opportunities, including reopening the
plans, for the companies to utilize those
excess assets.
Some are watching tech giant IBM's
2023 decision to reopen its defined benefit
cash balance plan and end its defined
contribution plan match as a possible bellBy
sifting their
current givens,
and goals,
companies may
find there's value
in reopening that
pension plan.
wether of more changes to come.
" People are thinking about it, and there are definitely some
other plan sponsors who are probably in a very similar situation
or even more positioned to do this than IBM was, " says Andy
Hunt, a San Francisco-based senior investment strategist with
Allspring Global Investments.
The Risks
Data from the 2024 PLANSPONSOR Defined Benefit
Administration Survey show that 52% of the DB plans served by
20 PLANSPONSOR.COM November - December 2024
Art by Lars Leetaru
respondents are open, 32% are frozen, 15%
are closed and 1% are terminated.
The largest group of participants in
the plans addressed by the survey, 40%, are
retirees, while 36% are employees active in
their plan, and 24% are ex-employees of the
company offering the plan.
This shows that options are available
to plan sponsors for approaching their
pension funds and viewing the assets there
as part of the full corporate balance sheet.
Other recent surveys have revealed
a significant focus on this question of
reviving pension plans. Mercer's 2024 Defined Benefit CFO
[Chief Financial Officer] Survey report, for example, says 65%
of the survey's respondents affirmed they have considered
reopening their DB plan. As the survey was fielded in March
2023, this predates IBM's decision, Mercer points out.
Of those 65% of Mercer's respondents, 88% said they
would consider reopening their plan " if they could eliminate
their risk concern with a new design, " and 90% agreed that
defined benefit plans " are a valuable tool for attracting and
retaining talent in their industry, " the report says.

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PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024

Insights
Participant analysis
Rules and regulations
Upfront
The Retirement Industry 2024
PLANSPONSOR DB Administration Survey
Plan Sponsors in Conversation
Build and Equip
SECURE 2.0’s New Match
2025 ERISA Plan Compliance Calendar
Counting the Costs
A Provision Review
SCOTUS to Decide
Helping Transient Workers Save
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Insights
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Participant analysis
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Rules and regulations
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Upfront
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - The Retirement Industry 2024
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 18
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - PLANSPONSOR DB Administration Survey
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Plan Sponsors in Conversation
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Build and Equip
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - SECURE 2.0’s New Match
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 2025 ERISA Plan Compliance Calendar
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 34
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Counting the Costs
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - A Provision Review
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - SCOTUS to Decide
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Helping Transient Workers Save
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - Cover4
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