Kwasha Lipton
| Company type | employee benefits consulting firm |
|---|---|
| Industry | benefit pension |
| Founded | 1944 |
| Founder | H. Charles "Chick" Kwasha Maurice Lipton |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Fate | acquired by Xerox |
| Successor | Buck Consultants |
| Headquarters | Fort Lee, New Jersey |
Area served | New York City New Jersey |
Kwasha Lipton operated as a consulting firm specializing in employee benefits, headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
History
Established in 1944 by H. Charles "Chick" Kwasha and Maurice Lipton, Kwasha Lipton is recognized for pioneering the cash balance plan (CBP), a variant of the defined benefit pension scheme, initially introduced for employees of Bank of America in 1985. The company facilitated the adoption of numerous CBPs for various clients, significantly impacting their nationwide implementation across the United States. Some workers have contended that CBPs may violate federal age discrimination statutes due to the way benefits accumulate differently for older employees. Although early rulings held plan sponsors accountable, most decisions were reversed upon appeal. To resolve these legal uncertainties, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which retroactively validated CBPs established ab initio. Nonetheless, challenges persist concerning CBPs formed through conversions of traditional pension plans that halt benefit accruals for senior employees.
In 1996, Kwasha Lipton was acquired by Coopers & Lybrand, becoming part of the Kwasha Lipton Group. After Coopers & Lybrand merged with Price Waterhouse in 1998 to create PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kwasha Lipton combined with PwC’s other employee benefit consulting divisions under the Unifi brand. Subsequently, Mellon Financial acquired Unifi and integrated it with its subsidiary Buck Consultants, resulting in Mellon HR Solutions. In 2005, Mellon HR Solutions was sold to Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for $405 million and rebranded as Buck Consultants.
ACS was then purchased by Xerox in 2010 for $6.4 billion. Following this acquisition, Buck Consultants was renamed "Buck Consultants at Xerox."
Building
The firm owned a distinctive 13-story office tower located in Fort Lee, New Jersey, prominently visible to northbound travelers after crossing the George Washington Bridge from New York City. This property features views overlooking the bridge and the Manhattan skyline. In July 2005, the building was sold for $33.7 million, while ACS continued to occupy the majority of the space.