Most Nonprofit Retirement Benefit Plans Under 'Stress,' Report Finds

November 10, 2009 — Most nonprofit organizations that offer retirement benefits to their employees report that their retirement plans are under stress, a new survey from the Johns Hopkins Listening Post Project finds.

The report, Escalating Pension Benefit Costs — Another Threat to Nonprofit Survival? (13 pages, PDF), found that those organizations offering defined benefit plans — plans that provide a guaranteed benefit to participants — have been hit hard, with 76 percent of respondents indicating that their plans are under stress and 43 percent reporting that they are under severe or very severe stress. Even those organizations offering defined contribution plans — plans with investments controlled by the employee and no guaranteed benefit — have been affected, with 58 percent of respondents reporting that their plans are under stress.