2020
Defined Benefit Administration Survey

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.

Mercer3

DB CLIENT OVERVIEW
Total DB admin clients1195
Full outsourcing42%
DB and DC clients0%
DB PLAN OVERVIEW
Total DB plans182
Frozen plans65%
Cash balance plans20%
With <100 participants19%
With >5,000 participants8%
DB PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW
Total Participants292,789
Private/Corporate297%
Public/Government2%
Retired participants44%
All interactions on web25%
SPONSOR SERVICES OFFERED
Plan accounting / Master trustE
Trust and custody servicesE
Actuarial servicesI
Investment managementI
Liability-driven investingI
Investment consultingI
PARTICIPANT ONLINE SERVICES
Online initiationYes
Online electionsNo
E-form processingNo
Online inquiry statusNo
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 both single-employer and multi-employer/Taft-Hartley plans.
3 In 2019, Mercer leadership made the strategic decision to move away from stand-alone large-market administration in the U.S. and chose Morneau Shepell as “the best alternative for our clients and people.” Mercer retained 82 DB outsourced administration clients in its mid-market Mercer Retirement Administration solution (for plans with 10,000 or fewer employees) and co-sourcing administration clients of any size.