CONSOL Energy freezes DB plan for certain employees

CONSOL Energy Inc., Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, is freezing its $778 million defined benefit plan for certain employees, according to documents issued to plan participants and obtained by Pensions & Investments.

Effective Sept. 30, employees younger than 40 or with fewer than 10 years of service will have their pension accruals frozen. Beginning Jan. 1, those employees will receive an additional 3% employer contribution to their existing 401(k) accounts, increasing CONSOL's total potential company contribution to 9%. The 401(k) plan had $1.19 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, according to its most recent Form 5500.

Employees who are at least 40 years old with 10 or more years of service as of Sept. 30 will remain enrolled in the defined benefit plan.

A spokeswoman for the company issued the following statement: “We are making these changes to both protect and invest in our people, and to position the company to be able to attract the necessary talent to continue to compete and thrive in a very competitive and rapidly changing energy landscape.”

James Comtois writes for Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of Business Insurance.