Retirement Security and Defined Contribution Pension Plans: The Role of Company Stock in 401(k) Plans

Abstract

Proposals have been suggested recently that would attempt to transfer part or all of the investment risk inherent in defined contribution plans from the employee to another entity. Although the party initially exposed to said risk varies among the proposals, the likely targets would be the employer, a government agency (perhaps the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) and/or a private insurance company. While the cost of the guarantees and/or financial uncertainty inherent in such an arrangement may be borne by the employer at least initially, it is unlikely that, in the long-term, such a shift in risk-bearing would not somehow alter the provisions of the existing defined contribution plans. It is obviously impossible to model the financial consequences of such proposals until additional detail is provided; however, a highly stylized example of one method of achieving this objective can be readily simulated.