Kravitz Report Cites Surge in Cash Balance Plans

Plan provider Kravitz says it has compiled research on all Cash Balance Plans nationwide as of December 31, 2007, using data from the most recently available IRS Form 5500 filings.  The report notes that, while in 2001 there were only 1,337 cash balance plans nationwide, by 2007 there were 4,797.

The Kravitz National Cash Balance Research Report says that 80% of cash balance Plans are in place at firms with less than 100 employees, and that most – nearly two-thirds (63%), in fact – have fewer than 36 participants.

The report notes that 79% of cash balance plans are combined with a profit-sharing or 401(k) plan, and that more than half of those plans use New Comparability.

The report notes that, as of 2007, medical and dental groups together accounted for a third (34%) of all cash balance plans nationally.  The report says that employers in California and New York account for 26% of all cash balance plans, with Ohio, New Jersey and Illinois “close behind.”

Since the majority of Cash Balance Plans were created within the past five years, about half have plan assets totaling less than $500,000, though Kravitz says that they “…anticipate that this statistical profile will change significantly over the next decade, as plan assets grow exponentially through large annual contributions and guaranteed interest credits”.

The Kravitz National Cash Balance Research Report is available at http://www.cashbalancedesign.com/articles/documents/NationalCashBalanceResearchReport2010.pdf

Kravitz says it is the largest independent firm of its kind headquartered in California, with over 75 employees.  Kravitz designed its first cash balance plan in 1989.  More information is available at http://www.CashBalanceDesign.com.