PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Wayne Daniel AU - Cynthia Mallett TI - Strengthening Retirement Outcomes for DB Plan Participants AID - 10.3905/sp.2017.2017.1.021 DP - 2017 Sep 30 TA - Special Issues PG - 21--27 VI - 2017 IP - 1 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/2017/1/21.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/2017/1/21.full AB - The retirement outcomes for defined benefit (DB) plan participants can be significantly impacted by the plan sponsors’ plan design choices, as well as by the decisions made by participants. This is true when a plan sponsor is seeking to transfer its risk or when participants retire from an ongoing plan. For DB plans whose plan design allows for a lump sum form of benefit, or those who are offering one through a special lump sum window, the guaranteed income benefit that was synonymous with the earliest pension plans will likely be lost in favor of the lure of a one-time lump sum payout to participants. What many pensioners don’t realize—often until it is too late—is that when they accept a lump sum distribution, they run the risk of prematurely depleting their assets. With a lump sum, the pensioner becomes responsible for managing the investment and addressing the market and longevity risks that are traditionally assumed by the plan or, in the case of a pension risk transfer, the insurer. This article will outline practical ways that DB plan sponsors can reduce pension risk and simultaneously enable the retirement outcomes intended for the plan through partial annuitization, and other lifetime income options. It also offers plan sponsors insights on how to develop clear and complete education and communication with income-oriented framing or positioning.