RESEARCH |

2019
Defined Benefit Administration Survey

Seeking the Best Outcomes: DB plan sponsors continue to hunt for the ideal partner in a complex market

Reported by PLANSPONSOR | Art by Daniel Shaffer
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Introduction

Like our Recordkeeping Survey on the defined contribution side of the market, the DB Administration Survey showcases providers in the DB market—who the major players are, who they serve, what services they provide. Also included is information on overall market sizing.

Milliman, Inc.

DB CLIENT OVERVIEW
Total DB admin clients1189
% Full outsourcing77%
% DB and DC clients15%
DB PLAN OVERVIEW
Total DB plans337
% Frozen plans260%
% Cash balance plans33%
% PLANS, BY NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
<100 participants35 (10%)
100 – 1,000 participants123 (37%)
1,001 – 5,000 participants117 (35%)
>5,000 participants62 (18%)
DB PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW
U.S. DB participants1,131,083
% Private/Corporate3NR
% Public/GovernmentNR
% Retired participants28%
% All interactions on web60%
SPONSOR SERVICES OFFERED
Plan accounting / Master trust E P
Trust and custody services E P
Actuarial servicesI
Investment managementI E
Liability-driven investingI E
Investment consultingI E
PARTICIPANT ONLINE SERVICES
Online initiation
Online elections
E-form processing
Online inquiry status
Online calculations4
Comparison of online calculation
I = Internal; E = External; P = Partnership; = Supports service as of publication date; NR = Not Reported in time for publication
Footnote:
1Includes both full outsourcing and partial outsourcing/co-sourcing arrangements; excludes investment-only, actuary-only and plan-consulting-only clients.
2 Includes partially frozen, soft-frozen and hard-frozen defined benefit plans.
3 Includes both single-employer and multi-employer/Taft-Hartley plans.
4 Reflects a provider's ability to provide actual/binding benefit calculations online; nearly all providers are able to offer nonbinding estimates of benefit accruals.