Case Western Reserve University Employees Retirement Plan B

Case Western Reserve University Employees Retirement Plan B

Case Western Reserve University Employees Retirement Plan B is the older of the university's two core retirement programs, serving eligible staff whose start date precedes July 1, 2015. The plan represents a traditional defined-benefit pension model increasingly rare among private universities — the majority of CWRU's broader retirement offering shifted to defined-contribution structures under Plan A, leaving Plan B as a closed, amortizing liability book. It is sponsored and administered directly by the university, with funding from annual employer contributions calculated as a percentage of participant earnings. Plan documents reference operational ties to University Hospitals of Cleveland for participants transferring between the two institutions. The plan provides a monthly retirement pension derived from a benefit formula tied to years of service and earnings history. Participants also hold an option for a lump-sum cash payment covering benefits accrued after July 1, 1992. Contributions accrue interest at a guaranteed minimum rate, compounding annually — a structural feature that shapes the plan's liability duration and funding ratio sensitivity to interest rates. The investment strategy and asset allocation governing the underlying pool remain undisclosed in public filings. As a closed plan, its liability profile steadily shortens, with each retiring member or lump-sum election reducing the remaining obligation. CWRU itself does not publish dedicated staffing figures, board composition, or investment committee details for the retirement plans. Plan design, actuarial assumptions, and funding strategy are managed through the university's benefits and finance administration rather than a standalone investment office. The institution's endowment, operating budget, and retirement trusts are governed by separate fiduciary structures. No recent procurement documents, RFPs, or investment manager meeting disclosures have surfaced that would illuminate the specific portfolio composition or external manager relationships for Plan B. The structural differentiator is the plan's frozen, closed status in an environment where most peers have already fully terminated or annuitized legacy defined-benefit plans. Plan B exists as a runoff liability, not a growing pension fund. That posture changes the calculus for any prospective investment manager or consultant — the mandate is capital preservation and liability matching for a shrinking pool, not accumulation. Every lump-sum buyout election accelerates that shrinkage, creating a stochastic liability curve unusual among institutional investors.