Ford Flips DB Administration to Fidelity

August 2, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Ford has selected Fidelity Investments to administer the automaker's $40 billion defined-benefit pension plan, servicing about 300,000 active employees and retirees, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The plan had previously been administered in-house, according to the WSJ, but the administration software had become outdated, contributing to the decision to outsource.

Ford will continue to act as the plan’s trustee, sending out checks through Coamerica and handling the customer call center, according to the report, which cites Ford spokesman Todd Nissen.

The mutual fund giant already provides administrative services for the automaker’s $20 billion defined-contribution plan and its 145,000 participants. Fidelity intends to integrate information from the two Ford plans, allowing employees to view their retirement account(s) online.

The group, which has been building its benefits outsourcing service since 1994, currently offers the DB outsourcing service to about 2 million employees.

Employer interest in so-called total benefit outsourcing, or “TBO”, has picked up over the past several months.

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