Retirement Plan News

When pension professionals hear “Cash Balance Plans,” it evokes memories from the last century, of an actuarial trick-turned hybrid pension design that was popular among employers looking to get away from traditional pension plans, and then fell out of favor as the shortcomings became apparent.

Though traditional 401(k) and 403(b) plans can be effective, their contribution limits often make them less attractive to high-income partners and executives, who are often searching for ways to save more and reduce corporate taxes. Cash Balance plans, on the other hand, offer an accelerated savings vehicle that allows for increased contributions and significant tax advantages. In this article, we explore how Cash Balance plans can support executive retention and reduce individual and corporate taxes in 2026.

In this article, we provide a background on Cash Balance plans and answer some of the most common questions surrounding this plan design.

When it comes to planning for retirement, one size certainly doesn’t fit all. Employees and businesses need retirement solutions that adapt to their unique circumstances, goals and financial situations — and more organizations are discovering that a cash balance pension plan can be a critical element to help meet their diverse needs.

In this article, we explore the pros, cons, and differences between Cash Balance plans and 401(k)s to share how organizations might use these retirement vehicles to support employee retirement goals.

On January 14th, 2026, the Board of the FASB took a big step towards clarifying the accounting treatment for Market-Based Cash Balance plans. Once finalized, these steps will mean that well-managed daily-valued Market-Based Cash Balance plans will be immune from the accounting risk and volatility typical of defined benefit pension plans. This is an important step forward in cementing the position of Market-Based Cash Balance plans as a best-of-both-worlds pension design that can provide meaningful benefit improvements for participants while protecting employers from artificial risk.

Continually finding new ways to grow your book of business is an ongoing challenge for advisors. One powerful but often underutilized opportunity lies in incorporating Cash Balance plans into your service offering. These plans not only help differentiate your practice and increase AUM but also provide significant tax advantages that can be especially compelling for high-income individuals.

Organizations looking to maximize their retirement contributions and deductions may require a new approach to their plan strategies. But when should an organization shift plans, and what plans are best for different organizations?    Below, we’ve outlined a laddering system to help you navigate different plans, with each option offering a more advanced structure to reach overall contribution limits. Some structures also offer combined plans to provide even higher contributions, particularly for high earners.

Pension finances enjoyed incremental improvement in March, rounding out another solid quarter. Higher stock markets outpaced higher liabilities, producing improvement in funded status of less than 1% for both model plans we track[1]. During the first quarter, Plan A improved 6% while the more conservative Plan B was up close to 2%:

After a quiet January, pensions enjoyed a strong month in February, as higher interest rates accompanied higher stock markets. Both model plans we track[1] gained ground last month: traditional Plan A improved 5% and the more conservative Plan B gained more than 1% during February:

Pension finances improved modestly in January, as higher interest rates more than offset the impact of mixed stock markets. Both model plans we track(1) were up a fraction of 1% for the month:

Pension finances were mixed again in December, as lower interest rates pushed up liabilities while higher stock markets increased asset values. Our model plans[1] diverged modestly, with Plan A losing 2% last month but ending 2023 up 7%, while the more conservative Plan B was flat in December, ending the year up almost 2%:

Facing retirement and cost of living crises, many Americans want to save as much as possible for the future. However, the IRS contribution limits in 401(k) plans make it difficult for high-earning employees to stash enough money away without tax consequences. Thankfully, there is another option. Cash balance plans offer more flexibility, higher contribution limits and a predictable annual expense for employers — making them an increasingly popular choice for many businesses, particularly professional service firms. 

On December 6, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget released the Administration’s Fall 2023 Regulatory Agenda – a summary of current agency regulation projects. In this article we briefly highlight some of the key projects related to retirement policy.

Pension finances were mixed in November, as lower interest rates pushed up liabilities while higher stock markets increased asset values. Both model plans we track(1) were close to even on the month. Our traditional Plan A ended November up 9% for the year, while the more conservative Plan B is up almost 2% through the first eleven months of 2023: