2026
Defined Benefit Administration Survey

The 2026 PLANSPONSOR Defined Benefit Administration Survey was fielded May through July via the Qualtrics survey platform. Data were collected from 15 providers of DB plan administrative services. All figures are as of December 31, 2025.

In analyzing our data, we validated with each provider any discrepancies to ensure the numerical totals aligned with the information provided. It is the responsibility of the survey respondent to provide accurate and true data to us for analysis. We reported on key DB administration components such as clients, participants, plans and assets. Included are data on DB clients by tenure, bundling arrangement and frequency of updates to cash balance account values.

The survey delved into DB plan design by requesting information on plan status, participant counts and accrual methodology. This year we reported on DB plans by sponsor type, number of qualified and nonqualified DB plans that receive administrative services, and more. We additionally reviewed data associated with participants, such as pertinent plan design, employee type, percentage of participants who have access to online-benefit-estimate and actual-online-benefit calculations.

This year, we explored a new area, reflected in a new section: Administrative Systems. This section reports on technology platforms used to administer DB plans and percentage of plans sending participant notices and DB plan statements, as well as the frequency of sending such statements. If you have any questions about the findings published here or would like to participate in the 2027 PLANSPONSOR Defined Benefit Administration Survey, please email surveys@issmediasolutions.com

—Kimberley Gonzalez-Quiles