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.

Willis Towers Watson5

DB CLIENT OVERVIEW
Total DB admin clients1423
% Full outsourcing46%
% DB and DC clients0%
DB PLAN OVERVIEW
Total DB plans863
% Frozen plans2NR
% Cash balance plansNR
% PLANS, BY NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
<100 participants1 (<1%)
100 – 1,000 participants83 (10%)
1,001 – 5,000 participants256 (30%)
>5,000 participants523 (61%)
DB PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW
U.S. DB participants4,869,152
% Private/Corporate397%
% Public/Government0%
% Retired participants33%
% All interactions on web80%
SPONSOR SERVICES OFFERED
Plan accounting / Master trust
Trust and custody services
Actuarial servicesI
Investment managementI
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; = 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.
5 Willis Towers Watson's 2019 data reflects participant counts adjusted for derisking activities (e.g., bulk lump-sum offerings, partial and/or plan termination).