As if this winter’s weather hasn’t been cold enough, the freeze announced by the corporate giant, Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh, will surely chill its employees to the bone! Continuing a trend which began decades ago within the private sector, Alcoa announced Wednesday it will freeze its defined benefit plans for its U.S. and Canadian salaried employees, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

All salaried employees in the U.S. and Canada will cease accruing retirement benefits for future service under the current DB plans. It was announced that the roughly 800 affected employees will be moved to country-specific defined contribution plans.

In order to lessen the impact, Alcoa will contribute 3% of the affected participants’ eligible earnings to their DC plans in addition to its existing employer savings match.