Administration Benchmarking Subscriptions
Pension administration leaders need more than internal metrics. You need an independent, peer-relevant benchmark to demonstrate value, drive better decisions, and stay connected to best practice.
You get exactly that through credible cost assessments, market-leading research, peer-to-peer access, and the industry’s leading pension administration conference.
Straightforward to participate. Rigorous by design.
Hear from the plans that know best
CEM has been a terrific and reliably steady partner in supporting CIEBA’s Annual Membership Profile survey and analysis for almost twenty years. Their team combines discipline, rigor, and a collaborative, easy‑to‑work‑with style that really helps us make sense of complex plan information. Over the years, we’ve appreciated not just their consistent execution, but also their thoughtful engagement and responsiveness to our Members as markets and needs have evolved. (Testimonial as of April 2026)
Partnering with CEM gives us fantastic insights into how our service and costs compare to our peers, helps to inform our decisions to drive service improvements, and gives independent and valued assurance to our key stakeholders. The value of the CEM peer network cannot be overstated, with access to talented and forward-thinking pensions professionals who are open, collaborative, and united in working together to drive better member outcomes.
Serving plans of every size, across every market
Launched in 1999, our global pension administration subscription covers both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, ranging from 50,000 to over one million members. Pension plans benchmarked across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands, and select African and Asian markets. Plans subscribe on an evergreen basis.
Data held to the highest standard
Every insight we deliver is built on core data principles owned by our Data Governance Committee and reviewed annually. Before any data enters our databases, it passes through multiple layers of validation, combining proprietary rules-based tools and expert analysis. Only once it’s clean is it matched against a curated peer group, so every comparison you receive is built on a foundation you can trust.
What comes with your subscription
Management insights report
A summary of the key benchmarking findings for your plan.
CEM dashboard
An interactive platform to explore your benchmarking data more deeply, track performance over time, and support fact-based decisions at every level of your plan.
Global conference
An annual in-person gathering bringing together senior leaders from global plans to exchange perspectives on the trends and challenges shaping the industry.
Regional conferences
Focused gatherings designed around the priorities and peer groups most relevant to your market, for conversations that are immediately applicable to your fund.
Live presentation
A dedicated session for your board, investment committee, or management team to dig into the findings and ask their most pressing questions.
CEM query
An AI-powered tool providing instant, secure access to CEM’s methodology, analyses, and historical reports so you can find answers and understand the drivers behind your results, confidentially.
Best practice research
Insight into what leading plans are doing and how drawn from commissioned research projects shaped by the priorities and preferences of subscribing plans, so the topics covered are always relevant to the challenges you are actually facing.
Peer intelligence network
A virtual discussion forum where subscribers connect, share ideas, and learn from peers facing the same challenges any time, not just at conferences.
De-anonymization
The ability to identify peers within your regional benchmarking data.
