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DB plan sponsors should be aware that while the 2017 calendar year is behind us, they can still generally contribute for the 2017 plan year until September 15, 2108, assuming they operate on a calendar-year plan year.
Strong market returns and larger-than-expected employer contributions shored up the funded status of the United States’ largest corporate pension plans modestly at the end of 2017, compared with the end of 2016, according to an analysis released January 2 by consulting firm Willis Towers Watson.
The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) in late 2017 launched another way for terminated defined contribution (DC) retirement plans to locate missing participants and make it more likely that they receive their benefits.
Multiemployer retirement plans’ funding in the first half of 2017 neared its best position since the market collapse of 2008, according to a new study by the actuarial consulting firm Milliman. But despite an average funded percentage of 81%, these plans still face significant pressures, with many on track to require assistance in the future […]
The new mortality tables required for use by final regulations released on October 5 by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were expected, but bring into sharper focus a host of concerns for the single-employer defined benefit (DB) retirement plans that must eventually incorporate them.
Interest in transferring pension risk off their balance sheets and on to insurance companies appear to be accelerating among U.S. defined benefit (DB) retirement plan sponsors, according to a recent poll conducted by insurer MetLife. The poll’s results lead MetLife to predict 2017 will be “another very robust year of [pension risk transfer] market activity.”
The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) delay until 2018 of implementation of updated mortality tables for pensions gives defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors some extra time to prepare for significant changes tied to increased participant longevity. But the delay also may affect pension liability valuation in up to three ways, according to investment consulting firm Cambridge […]
Single-premium pension buyout sales as part of the “derisking” of defined benefit (DB) retirement plans for the first quarter rose 31% from the same period in 2016, totaling $1.4 billion—the highest first-quarter results in 15 years, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.
Lump-sum windows that offer defined benefit (DB) retirement plan participants a chance to convert their vested accrued monthly benefit into a one-time lump-sum cashout have gained popularity as a way for pensions to “derisk” their balance sheets and lower their headcount for U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums.
Most employers with traditional defined benefit (DB) plans are interested in transferring their pension plan risk off their books, according to a retirement plan industry think tank that measures pension buyout activity.