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.

Pentegra Retirement Services

DB CLIENT OVERVIEW
Total DB admin clients1208
% Full outsourcing100%
% DB and DC clients79%
DB PLAN OVERVIEW
Total DB plans580
% Frozen plans250%
% Cash balance plans9%
% PLANS, BY NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
<100 participants477 (82%)
100 – 1,000 participants101 (17%)
1,001 – 5,000 participants2 (<1%)
>5,000 participants0 (0%)
DB PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW
U.S. DB participants47,051
% Private/Corporate3100%
% Public/Government0%
% Retired participants31%
% All interactions on web10%
SPONSOR SERVICES OFFERED
Plan accounting / Master trust
Trust and custody servicesI E
Actuarial servicesI
Investment managementI E
Liability-driven investingI
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.