Cash Balance Pension Plan Conversions

Abstract

One of the hottest issues in the pension world today involves companies replacing their traditional pension plans with cash balance plans. A cash balance plan is a pension plan that looks like a bank account or a 401(k) plan. The problem is that replacing a traditional pension plan with a cash balance plan will reduce the expected pension benefits of older workers. As a result, older workers can see their future pensions cut - in some cases deeply. Not surprisingly, many of these older workers have felt cheated, and they have filed a number of lawsuits to stop these so-called cash balance conversions. This Article considers the various legal issues that are raised by cash balance conversions. In particular, this Article considers whether these conversions violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The Article concludes that the typical cash balance conversion will not violate these laws. As long as the conversion protects the already-accrued benefits of older workers, ERISA will be satisfied. And, as long as post-conversion benefit allocations are nondiscriminatory, ADEA should be satisfied.