I had a similar experience to Daniel. In 2000 after fifteen years of service I had the option of remaining in the Company DB plan, or moving over to the DC plan (the DB plan was being closed to new members and those who did not have a certain number of points were moved). We were told that the DB plan would be wound up it the end of 2007. Fortunately I was grandfathered and had the option to stay or move to DC.
In 2000 my conversion dollars into the DC were I calculated at $113K with an estimated PAR of $40K. Comparator numbers for each option were based on a 7 percent rate of return. We did not contribute any money to this DB plan, it was a company benefit in it's entirety.
I stayed in the DB plan. MY employer kept the DB plan going until the end of 2010. When I retired early at the end of 2010 that same DB pension had a value of $850K. I also had a small supplementary pension worth about $500K.
I am so glad that I stayed.
One big issue with DC plans is the ability of the employer to change the matching contribution amounts. The company that I worked for changed this for US employees. Eventually they only matched if the company has met it's quarterly targets on a quarter by quarter basis. In Canada the DC matching amounts have declined over time.
The other variable is the investment options and the management fees associated with the DC investment selections.
DC plans can be very good but they are definitely not all the same.
Reply With Quote