ENFIELD, Conn., April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MassMutual Retirement Services, underscoring its commitment to serving defined benefit pension plans as some competitors exit the marketplace, has appointed a national practice leader for its DB actuarial consulting practice.

Steven Mendelsohn is leading MassMutual's actuarial consulting and plan services to defined benefit and cash balance plan sponsors. The team includes three actuarial and data teams that help manage 1,300 DB and cash balance plans covering 800,000 participants with $16 billion in assets.

Mr. Mendelsohn reports to Bill Silvanic, Senior Vice President of Product for MassMutual's Retirement Services.

"Steve's deep experience and record of accomplishment will help MassMutual provide superior service to our existing DB plan customers and the financial advisors who support them," Mr. Silvanic said. "MassMutual is committed to serving the defined benefit marketplace and sees greater opportunity as fewer firms serve the market or offer comprehensive services."

"MassMutual is one of the few providers with the resources to offer integrated services, including plan administration, actuarial consulting, investment management and compliance," Mr. Mendelsohn said. "Our ability to match investment strategies to longer-term costs enables our firm to provide more predictable year-over-year results for our plan sponsors."

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reports that the number of DB plans has declined by 50 percent in the past 15 years, to 22,000. During that time, the number of 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans has increased significantly to more than 638,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Despite those trends, Mr. Mendelsohn said, many employers continue to provide DB pension plans for their employees and need comprehensive services to ensure they achieve the goal of providing secure, dependable income for retirees. As the DB pension market has contracted, so too has the number of firms providing support services for plans and financial advisors who market them, he said.

Mr. Mendelsohn brings more than 30 years of pension actuarial consulting and compliance experience to MassMutual. Prior to joining the mutual insurer, he held roles as a local retirement practice leader and retirement market leader with Aon Hewitt and served as executive vice president and chief actuary with Retirement System Group Inc. Mr. Mendelsohn is an Enrolled Actuary (EA), a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the State University of New York (SUNY).

For more information about MassMutual's Retirement Services Division, please contact your financial professional or call MassMutual at 1-800-874-2502, option 4.

About MassMutual

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders consistently since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company's strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

MassMutual's Retirement Services Division has been serving retirement plans for more than 65 years. It offers a full range of products and services for corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers' defined benefit, defined contribution and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It serves approximately 2.8 million participants.

For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or find MassMutual on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+. For information regarding MassMutual's Retirement Services Division, you may also visit massmutual.com/retire or find us on Facebook.com/RetireSmart and YouTube.com/RetireSmart.

Copyright ©2014 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and affiliates, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved.

Contact: David Potter 
860-562-1525 
dpotter@massmutual.com 

Jessica Barry 
860-562-5095  
jbarry2@massmutual.com

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SOURCE MassMutual Retirement Services