DC Plans

Global Defined Contribution Pension Plans Warn of Insufficient Retirement Savings

Source: Funds Society Many defined contribution pension plans are not convinced that their participants are on the right path to securing sufficient income during retirement and believe that reversing this situation will take several decades, according to a new report by the Thinking Ahead Institute, a global organization dedicated to investment analysis and innovation at WTW. The Global DC Peer Study 2025, conducted by the Thinking Ahead Institute, brought together 20 of the leading defined contribution pension plans from [...]

CORPaTH2025-08-28T15:44:00-07:00August 27th, 2025|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: DC Plans, retirement|

Retirement 101: Defined benefit vs. defined contribution plans

By Miranda Marquit Source: Britannica Money When researching retirement account choices, you might come across the terms defined benefit plan and defined contribution plan. What’s the difference between the two, and do you get to pick and choose? (Typically, no.) How might your structure—defined benefit versus defined contribution—impact your retirement savings strategy? Read the full article

CORPaTH2024-07-19T13:55:45-07:00July 19th, 2024|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans|

NIRS to hold webinar on Alaska’s experience moving public employees from pensions to defined contribution plans

Source: National Institute on Retirement Security Please join us for a webinar on Monday, June 12, 2023, at 2:00 PM ET, Alaska's Experience Moving Public Employees from Pensions to Defined Contribution Plans. Click here to register. In 2005, Alaska closed its two statewide defined benefit pension plans for teachers and public employees. Since July 1, 2006, all new Alaska hires participate in a defined contribution plan rather than a pension plan. The retirement plan change has had the unintended [...]

CORPaTH2023-06-07T13:00:40-07:00June 7th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: alaska, DB Plans, DC Plans|

DC Plan Sponsors Should Pay Attention to Increased Litigation, Low Retirement Confidence

By Remy Samuels Source: Plan Sponsor Increased litigation; regulatory and legislative changes; and a lack of retirement confidence among participants were common themes observed by defined contribution plan sponsor panelists on a recent Mercer webinar reflecting on key trends in the first quarter of 2023. Roughly 43 lawsuits, noted with activity, have been filed this quarter against retirement plans, including 14 settlements that totaled about $55.3 million, said Rhonda Berg, a senior principal and defined contribution consultant at Mercer [...]

CORPaTH2023-05-24T15:21:15-07:00May 24th, 2023|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: DC Plans, litigation|

DC Plans: Cost Savings After All?

By John Iekel Source: American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries Defined contribution plans have outstripped defined benefit plans in number of accounts, assets, employers offering them and participants. But a recent study that examines the cost of both kinds of plans challenges the notion that bigger is synonymous with better. In “A Better Bang for the Buck 3.0: Post-Retirement Experience Drives Pension Cost Advantage,” National Institute for Retirement Security (NIRS) Executive Director Dan Doonan and Pension Trustee Advisors [...]

CORPaTH2022-01-25T10:59:49-08:00January 25th, 2022|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: DC Plans|

Variable Benefit Plans a Solution for All Types of Plan Sponsors

By Rebecca Moore Source: Plan Sponsor Plan sponsors and others in the retirement plan industry have been showing an increased interest in new defined benefit (DB) plan designs that minimize cost volatility and/or provide risk sharing. During a recent webinar on the subject, Rachel Barnes, a member of the pension committee at the American Academy of Actuaries, noted that many corporate plan sponsors have been taking steps to transfer or eliminate their traditional DB plan obligations. While some have [...]

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:26-07:00May 5th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans, variable benefit plans|

DC Plans More Vulnerable to ERISA Litigation Than DB Plans

Source: AI-CIO.com Defined contribution (DC) retirement plans are far more susceptible to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) lawsuits than defined benefit (DB) plans, lawyers argue in a lawsuit filed against The Wesco Distribution Inc. Retirement Savings Plan. “The potential for imprudence is much greater in defined contribution plans than in defined benefit plans,” said the lawsuit. The complaint, which alleges Wesco neglected its fiduciary duties by allowing excessive fees, said that companies with DC plans are much more [...]

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:23-07:00April 21st, 2021|Categories: ERISA|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans, erisa|

Too embarrassed to ask: what’s the difference between a defined benefit pension and a defined contribution pension?

A pension is simply a tax-efficient savings vehicle, or “tax wrapper”, that allows you or your employer to invest for your long-term future. For most of us, the main goal of a pension is to provide us with money to live off in later life, usually once we’ve retired from full-time employment. The rules governing pensions can seem confusing, particularly as the government fiddles with them at almost every other budget. But at the most basic level, there are [...]

CORPaTH2021-03-24T14:53:59-07:00March 24th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans|