DBplus ‘turnkey solution’ for the elusive defined benefit pension plan

Legal professionals face lack of retirement plan options at law firms

DBplus ‘turnkey solution’ for the elusive defined benefit pension plan

Sponsored article

Four years ago, Lawyers Financials board of directors were told many lawyers have an issue with retirement — they just dont do it.

One of the major hurdles is the lack of retirement plan options available at law firms. Its not realistic to expect individual firms to set up their own defined benefit pension plans, the kind of retirement savings vehicle often hailed as the gold standard, because its very risky,” says Dawn Marchand, president and CEO of CBIA/Lawyers Financial, the not-for-profit insurance and investment services organization that serves the legal profession.

It would be a single employer plan and there would be a lot of governance, not to mention the financial risk of having to deliver on the promises of the pension. Theres no way a firm could do that — theres no way most companies could do that.”

Randy Bauslaugh, counsel at McCarthy Tétrault, led a task force to look into the best way to address this gap in the legal space, and after three years of investigation Lawyers Financial was seriously considering setting up its own pension plan. At around the same time, in 2018, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) — the pension provider for colleges in Ontario for more than 50 years — announced they were opening up their pension plan to all Canadian organizations under the name DBplus, with an almost identical formula to the one Bauslaugh and team had come up with.

We know law firms are very busy doing the business of law — if we were going to provide them with something it had to be super easy,” says Marchand. Thats why the CAAT solution made perfect sense.”

Lawyers Financial decided to join forces with CAAT and approach it as an affinity arrangement, with the former doing some of the leg work by facilitating all sizes of law firms to join. Lawyers Financial is not making one single penny on this plan,” Marchand notes, adding its something our board has said is the right thing to do, so we have invested money to do this for the legal community.” DBplus was rolled out to the legal profession in July of 2020, and "weve had law firms signing up every month since.”

By joining DBplus, firms are joining CAATs established, multi-employer, jointly sponsored plan. That means theres no financial risk to the employers — all of the risk lies with CAAT. CAAT also handles all member education and communication, making DBplus a turnkey solution for law firms — theres no administration, no technology, no infrastructure, no investment risk, no fees,” Marchand notes. The only cost is a percentage contribution of employees' T4 income, which is easily done by copying the automatic monthly process for CPP and allocating a portion from employer and employee to the pension.

First and foremost, its a better bang for the buck spent on pensions for employees — these types of plans generally deliver twice as much retirement income for the same amount contributed to a defined contribution arrangement,” says Bauslaugh, adding its good for lawyers to take a look at but its even better in terms of providing for their staff.

Since the end of mandatory retirement at age 65, even within his firm there are admin assistants or other staff that ask him if he thinks theyve got enough saved up to be able to retire and Bauslaugh finds that unacceptable.

We should be able to provide more certainty, more predictability about retirement income — and DBplus offers that for staff,” he says.

On top of that reliable income for life, employees have reduced stress without complex investment decisions, can consolidate existing registered funds into DBplus and rest easy knowing the pension is portable within the legal profession. Employers can leverage the plan as a compelling attraction and retention tool, enjoy reduced costs, risks and administration compared to other avenues and not have to worry about compliance and fiduciary risk. Bauslaugh also notes its a way to ensure employees can transition to retirement with confidence, making room for other employees to move up in the ranks.

Like so much else, the pandemic took its toll on the promotion of DBplus, which was originally going to consist of roadshows where Lawyers Financial met with law firms across the country for the entirety of 2020. Lawyers Financial decided to take it digital and have been working with the CBA to market it through a series of webinars. Sticking with the general overview webinar into the fall, as they keep reaching new people and interest is growing through word of mouth, Marchand says they do have plans in the works to expand into some specialized topics such as a deeper dive into how to buy additional money in DBplus, or how does it specifically to partners versus employees?”

Despite the bumps in the road, also in true pandemic fashion, there was a silver lining to this new approach.

I think we reached people we wouldn't have if we were standing in a room together, so that worked out well,” Marchand says, though she notes with the big law firms they really need to get into a board room with their executive team and talk things through in person.

No matter how word gets around, Marchand has no doubt that it will — DBplus and what it offers speaks for itself.

Its hard not to make it sound like an infomercial because its so good,” Marchand laughs. Thats my problem!”

To learn more about DBplus, sign up for Lawyers Financial’s upcoming webinar.

Recent articles & video

Register for November’s 2024 Lexpert Rising Star Awards

Billion-dollar deals, including Couche-Tard’s new higher buyout offer, top this week’s roundup

SCC takes flexible approach to corporate attribution doctrine in bankruptcy and insolvency cases

Understanding sustainable finance key for attracting global capital to Canada: Dentons partner

Supreme Court of Canada to hear three first degree murder cases next week

Ontario Court of Appeal dismisses motion to appeal interim vaccination order in child custody case

Most Read Articles

Ontario Superior Court refuses to remove estate trustees despite breach of fiduciary duties

Ontario Superior Court voids financial transfers for failing to rebut presumption of resulting trust

Legal industry managers expect pay for lawyers, other industry professionals to rise: report

Alberta Court of King’s Bench dismisses habeas corpus application in child custody dispute