2019
Defined Benefit Administration Survey

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

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.

Transamerica Retirement Solutions, LLC

DB CLIENT OVERVIEW
Total DB admin clients1127
% Full outsourcing82%
% DB and DC clients66%
DB PLAN OVERVIEW
Total DB plans246
% Frozen plans2NR
% Cash balance plans15%
% PLANS, BY NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
<100 participants29 (10%)
100 – 1,000 participants104 (37%)
1,001 – 5,000 participants92 (33%)
>5,000 participants57 (20%)
DB PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW
U.S. DB participants436,857
% Private/Corporate390%
% Public/Government10%
% Retired participants35%
% All interactions on web70%
SPONSOR SERVICES OFFERED
Plan accounting / Master trustE
Trust and custody servicesI E
Actuarial servicesI P
Investment managementE P
Liability-driven investingI
Investment consultingI
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; blank cells = Not offered/supported; 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.