According to Northern Trust, Corporate Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pension plans had the best first quarter on a relative basis, while the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service shows Taft Hartley defined benefit (DB) plans, which had the largest allocation to U.S. equities, posted the highest Q1 gain.
Plan sponsors may submit a determination of coverage request for four common types of DB plans.
With most companies that track defined benefit (DB) plan funded status showing an improvement in April and for the year, some suggest plan sponsors consider whether it’s time for a risk transfer or to set off portfolio glide path triggers.
Asked what they plan to look for in asset management searches in the next 12 months, the majority of mid-sized defined benefit (DB) plan CIOs said better risk-adjusted returns, and they plan to turn to private equity, real estate and hedge funds.
An analysis from the Society of Actuaries suggests the majority of defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors are making sufficient contributions to help reduce unfunded liabilities.
The latest report from Russell Investments shows the largest defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors have shifted more to fixed income investments and increased contributions as they continue to de-risk.
Two separate reports suggest that public pension plans’ strict adherence to target allocations and corporate pension plans’ focus on bonds and de-risking their portfolios may be hindering potential performance.
Lower discount rates increased liabilities in March, but companies that monitor defined benefit (DB) plan funded status estimate a 1% to 2% increase in the first quarter.
Steidle Pension Solutions’ comprehensive services include testing, calculations, plan valuation, document services, actuary certification, Form 5500 preparation, and more.
2019 items for which plan amendments may be needed include changes to hardship withdrawal regulations, retirement plan relief for victims of 2018 hurricanes and nondiscrimination relief for closed defined benefit (DB) plans.
The updated mortality improvement rates and static tables apply for purposes of calculating a defined benefit (DB) plan’s funding target and other items for valuation dates occurring during the 2020 calendar year.
Pension plans’ funding rose a mere 70 basis points last year, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
J.P. Morgan’s “Corporate Pension Peer Analysis 2018,” says 2018 was the largest asset allocation de-risking year for defined benefit (DB) plans since 2011.
Firms that monitor defined benefit (DB) plan funded status attribute the increase to strong equity market performance.
The IRS had previously put a halt to the practice of defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors offering lump-sum windows to retirees in pay status, saying it intended to amend regulations so that such an acceleration of payments would not be allowed.
The lawsuit claims owners of Freedom Communications made ill-advised, highly speculative investments which caused the pension plan to lose tens of millions of dollars.
Eighty percent of Americans polled by the NIRS think the government should make it easier for employers to offer pensions, and more than half think the government needs to increase Social Security contributions from both employers and workers.
Speakers on a PGIM Fixed Income webcast offered practical steps pension plan sponsors can take today and over time to protect funding levels; they suggested liability-driven investing is a smart way to “get off the funded-status rollercoaster.”