Glossary

Pension risk transfer is the transaction in which a defined benefit plan sponsor purchases a group annuity contract from an insurance company to satisfy pension obligations to plan participants, transferring the ongoing liability from the sponsor's balance sheet to the insurer's.

A pension-linked emergency savings account is a workplace savings vehicle authorized by SECURE 2.0 that lets non-highly-compensated employees contribute after-tax dollars, up to a $2,500 cap, into a Roth-treated account alongside a defined contribution plan for use on unexpected expenses.

The plan administrator is the person or entity identified in the plan document as responsible for the operational administration of an ERISA-covered plan, or, if none is identified, the plan sponsor by default, and is an ERISA fiduciary with respect to the administrative functions the role entails.

A plan audit is the annual examination of an ERISA-covered retirement plan's financial statements by an independent qualified public accountant, required for large plans and used to support the financial-statement schedules that accompany the plan's Form 5500 filing.

A plan committee is the governance body, typically named in the plan document, through which a plan sponsor delegates administration of an ERISA-covered retirement plan, with committee members serving as ERISA fiduciaries when they exercise discretion over plan operations or assets.