West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. isn’t annuitizing multiple defined benefit (DB) plans to get out of the pension business. In fact, the wood products company is committed to DB. “We believe we get tremendous value out of our DB plans around recruitment and definitely around retention of our employees,” says Elaine Jensen, general manager of human resources. As a result of acquisitions, West Fraser had 11 DB plans in 2017. “Just because we’re taking on risks, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for opportunities to reduce or mitigate them,” says Jensen. …Whether a plan sponsor annuitizes all of its plans at once or takes a phased approach depends on the size of the deal, says Azita Bassiji, a partner in retirement solutions at Aon, which worked with West Fraser on the transactions.