Pension plan ‘de-risking’ a natural reaction, ERISA committee told

The American Benefits Council testified before the ERISA Advisory Committee on Wednesday, describing the key motivations that have caused many employers to consider reducing their pension plan liabilities by “de-risking.”

Craig Rosenthal, a partner with Mercer, testified on the Council’s behalf, emphasizing that the legislative and regulatory environment for pension plans has made sponsorship increasingly difficult over the past few decades.

“If funding and accounting obligations can be stabilized and the spiraling up of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premium obligations can be reversed, there would be far less reason for companies to de-risk,” Rosenthal told the panel.

“There is no one-size-fits-all answer as to why some companies adopt de-risking approaches and others do not, nor is there a simple answer as to why companies that do de-risk do so in different ways,” Rosenthal said. “As the EAC formulates its recommendations to the U.S. Department of Labor on this subject, we urge its members to consider that the best way to preserve defined benefit pension plans is to mitigate the complex financial challenges imposed on pension plan sponsors.”

Rosenthal’s testimony is available on the Council website. Council staff members are available to discuss employer plan sponsors’ many considerations with regard to the sponsorship or termination of a plan.

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