Seek an Independent Review

An independent review of your pension plan allows a different set of eyes to examine your plan, which often means valuable insight into the plan’s health and management. It is like getting a second opinion from a reputable auto mechanic known for expertise and reliable, trustworthy service.

USI Consulting Group’s (USICG’s) defined benefit plan experts excel at providing independent reviews of pension plans which help employers make informed decisions about changes to their plan – or confirm that their plan is operating satisfactorily. Among the most critical pension plan studies we conduct are:

Embrace 21st Century Technology

Modernizing your pension plan may mean venturing into current technology that builds efficiency for your organization and improves engagement with plan participants. Outsourcing plan administration to a third-party administrator can help accomplish those objectives while also lowering your overall plan costs.

Our plan administration platform, RetirementFocus™ provides an online portal for employers, which promotes efficiency as:

• All data is organized in one place, making it quickly accessible, easy to review, and readily available for special projects
• Customized reports are created specifically for your organization
• Automated emails to participants to communicate important deadlines or messages

The real value of current technology, however, is what employers can offer to pension plan participants. Employees are often more familiar with their 401(k) plan accounts, but they should also be aware of the value of the pension benefit they are accruing through their service to the company. Offering access to pension benefit information through a modern platform supported by knowledgeable service center analysts can be major factors in retirement planning education and retention.

Dust Off That Plan Design

It is well known that an attractive benefits package can help attract and retain talent. Whether your plan was designed a decade ago – or several decades ago – there are changes that can be made today that will create savings and efficiencies for your organization. Our pension plan experts can help you modernize your plan design, including hybrid designs that enable employers to combine the best of pension plans and 401(k) plans to provide a more stable future for employees.

In addition, new plan designs can offer extra tax-saving options for the business owner or executive teams. For example, USICG’s Direct Recognition Variable Investment Plan (DR-VIP) is a business-smart solution for mitigating employer liabilities and continuing tax-deductible contributions. Traditional cash balance plans are another way to provide additional tax savings beyond direct contribution plan limits.

Gain Control of Your Investments with Liability-Driven Investing

Employers may also reduce volatility in funding status and fewer contribution surprises by implementing a liability-driven investing (LDI) strategy. As with any strategy, the benefits are accompanied by trade-offs, such as potentially lower returns, and by challenges including managing equity interest rate sensitivity. Strategic de-risking monitored by an experienced integrated actuarial and investment advisory team helps employers make decisions confidently and mitigate risk. USICG’s Funded Status Risk Optimizer is an interactive tool that illustrates the impact of equity market and interest rate movement on an employer’s pension plan’s funded status. This tool is designed to ensure each client’s asset allocation – and return/risk objectives – is truly aligned with potential outcomes due to market movements. The Funded Status Risk Optimizer offers a visual display of dozens of scenarios which promote a discussion of hypothetical market events that impact the funded status of the pension plan. As a result, clients can make prudent decisions concerning their plan’s investment strategy.

Implementing an LDI strategy allows employers to lock in their funded status gains and better preserve them going forward. Our team of experts can help employers identify gaps in their pension plans and take appropriate actions to modernize their pension plan strategy to attract and retain today’s employees.

Case Study: Hospital benefits from USICG’s strategy and guidance

A hospital with over 2,000 pension plan participants hired USIGC to help address funding risk concerns and high plan costs, including PBGC premiums and increasing variable rate premiums. Our experienced actuarial team performed the plan’s annual valuation which revealed the plan was underfunded. Additionally, a longevity study to project the impact of the hospital’s employee base on its pension funds was completed.

We advised the client to accelerate plan contributions above the annual minimum funding requirement which enabled the hospital to reduce pension required minimum costs by 1% of unfunded liability (approximately $200,000) while also reducing the variable rate premiums by moving the plan funding to a higher level.*