PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Evan Inglis AU - Nathan Zahm TI - Considerations for Frozen Pension Plans: <em>Immunization or Termination?</em> DP - 2014 Sep 21 TA - Special Issues PG - 22--34 VI - 2014 IP - 1 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/2014/1/22.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/2014/1/22.full AB - Many plan sponsors today are managing frozen pension plans and will ask, “How long should our organization continue to maintain and manage the plan?” Will the plan liabilities be retained by the plan sponsor, with risk minimized by investing in a portfolio of matching assets, or will the plan be terminated, with the future risks and costs of the plan passed onto the participants and/or an insurer? This article examines the factors that drive the true costs of retaining a plan and compares them with the factors that drive the cost of a plan termination. The authors find that termination may be slightly cheaper for most plan sponsors, but the results will vary by plan sponsor depending on a number of factors including: lump sum acceptance rates, investment management costs, pension plan design, and the size of the plan. Sponsors considering the future of their frozen pension plans should consider how each of these factors will impact the costs of immunization and termination of their particular plans.