Integrated Pension Plan

An integrated pension plan is an employer-based pension plan where the employer counts Social Security benefits as part of the total benefit that the plan participant receives. Said another way, employers that use an integrated plan reduce the pension benefits that their employees receive by a percentage of the amount that they receive in their social security check. If the pension plan were not integrated, employees would receive a greater sum of money from their employer.

Integrated pension plan participants collect from their employer as well as Social Security. Some integrated plans have a specified total benefit in mind when determining payout; these plans look for Social Security and pension funds to combine toward meeting that goal. Employees do have some protection, though. According to a 1988 law, an employer that enrolls employees in an integrated pension plan cannot reduce private pension distributions by more than 50 percent.

Several factors likely play a role in a firm’s decision to adopt an integrated pension plan. First, there are several payroll considerations that accompany an integrated pension plan; in particular, firms can reduce their required OASDI payment. OASDI, which stands for old age, survivors, and disability insurance, is the payroll tax that employer’s collect from employees to fund the nation’s social security program. Employers withhold 6.2 percent from their employees' pay and then forward it to the government. For their part, employers must also pay 6.2 percent from their own funds. With pension integration, firms can offset part of this tax by reducing employee pension benefits.

Second, a non-integrated pension plan could result in lower-paid workers receiving combined pension and Social Security benefits that exceed their pre-retirement earnings, which could be considered unfair. Third, firms may view an integrated plan as a recruiting tool to attract and retain talented personnel. The thought is that integration could allow for higher pension benefits, within limits, for higher paid workers.

Defined benefit pension plans offer participants security, in that they know their income stream upon retirement. Also, the Pension Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protects the administration of their defined benefit plans. If something happened to the company, the PBGC would step in and cover pension distributions.

A disadvantage of a defined benefit pension plan is that a participant’s income potential may be limited. For example, a 401(k) plan participant would be able to choose individual investments that may lead to higher annual returns. Along those lines, another potential disadvantage of defined benefit pension plans is that participants do not have control over the investments.