Buck: Defined Benefit Plan Cuts Will Stick

Few employers that pruned traditional pension plans in 2009 are expecting to reverse the changes in the next few months.

Consultants at Buck Consultants L.L.C., New York, a unit of Xerox Corp., Norwalk, Conn., have published data supporting that conclusion in a summary of results from a recent survey of 200 employers.

About 52% of employers that changed defined contribution retirement plans in late 2008 or 2009 are either expecting to keep the changes or are uncertain about what they are doing, according to the Buck consultants.