Pension assets continued to rise in 2017, to the tune of USD 43.4 trillion in the OECD area for the first time, with almost all countries showing positive investment results according to the new Pension Markets in Focus 2018 report published in October 2018 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This annual report, which now covers 87 countries, gives an overview of private pension systems worldwide

Defined benefit (DB) pension plans’ inevitable demise is a long-held truth. Or is it? RBC Investor & Treasury Services in February 2018 revealed that Canadian defined benefit pension plans ended 2017 in positive territory, posting an annual return of 9.7 percent. In addition, a recent RBC Investor & Treasury Services poll of Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors showed their median funded status stands at 96 percent. The poll,

Auto manufacturer BMW in September 2016 decided to end both of its UK final salary-defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Both plans will cease future accrual as of June 2017, affecting around 5,000 members total. Citing significant pension fund shortfalls and the cost risks associated with DB plans, BMW explained that their plans are increasingly unsustainable and unaffordable for both the company and the pension plans members. Unite, the union

250 U.S. employers, representing nearly 7 million workers, recently took part in the “2016 Hot Topics in Retirement and Financial Well-Being” survey conducted in late 2015 by Aon Hewitt that revealed plans by large employers to expand their current financial well-being programs for their employees in 2016. The survey indicated that 55 percent of employers currently offer some sort of help for workers in the areas of budgeting, money

While Mexico’s principal mandatory pension system began as a Defined Benefit (DB) program in 1973, in 1997 it was changed to a Defined Contribution (DC) plan, with individual accounts managed by financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. This DC system is still open to new members, while the DB pension one is closed.

As of January 1, 2016, American International Group (AIG) will freeze defined benefit (DB) pension plans for its U.S. employees and enhance its offering of 401(k) defined contribution (DC) plans. In so doing, AIG ceases incurring additional pension liabilities and transfers risk onto the shoulders of its employees. De-risking pensions by reducing DB exposure is a common course of action since the mid-2000s, recommended by insurers and consultants alike.

The trend for employers to move from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension plans is a global phenomenon. Many multinational companies now have pension guidelines that encourage or even require pension provision to be granted using a defined contribution approach, and some emerging economies without long-standing pension systems have skipped DB benefit provision altogether.