Private Defined Benefit Pension System

Abstract

How best to resolve the cash balance pension controversy is perhaps the greatest source of uncertainty affecting the future of the defined benefit plan system. A rational solution that promotes the health of the pension system is unlikely to emerge from the courts, but must be enacted by Congress. At the core of the legislation would be an essential quid pro quo, giving older workers substantial protection from the adverse effects of conversion from traditional defined benefit to hybrid plans, while providing that hybrid plans are lawful and affording employers reasonable flexibility to change their plans and reasonable certainty regarding the applicable rules.