- EBRI and its Education and Research Fund
- EBRI’s 30th Anniversary
- EBRI’s 25th Anniversary
- Honoraria for Presentations
- Letter from the President
- Use by non-members
- President’s Report
- Most Viewed
- Publications
- By Topic
- Data Book
- Facts from EBRI
- Fast Facts
- Fundamentals
- Issue Briefs
- Notes
- Policy Books
- President’s Reports
- Press Releases
- Special Reports
- Testimony
- Resources
- Benefit Bibliography
- Benefit FAQs
- Links to Other Internet Resources
- Reference Shelf
- Special Issues of Periodicals
- What’s New in Employee Benefits
FAQs About Benefits—Retirement Issues
The vast majority of private-sector working-age Americans who have benefits obtain them through their jobs. Since 1980, significant changes have occurred in the kind of employment-based retirement plan that workers participate in: Defined benefit (so-called “traditional” pension) plans have declined (reflecting pressures on defined benefit plan sponsors to control costs and funding volatility, in addition to increased regulatory burdens), while defined contribution (401(k)-type) plans have grown.
Note: There is an important distinction between Figures 1 and 2:
- Figure 1 shows the distribution of retirement plan coverage among all private-sector workers. For instance, Figure 1 shows that in 2008, 31% of all private-sector workers participated only in a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan and 3% participated only in a defined benefit pension plan.
- Figure 2 shows the distribution of retirement plan coverage among those who have a retirement plan.. For instance, in 2008, 67% of workers with a retirement plan had only a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan and 7% participated only in a defined benefit pension plan.
The “gender gap” in retirement plan coverage has been steadily shrinking since the late 1980s. Also, whether a worker is offered and participates in a retirement plan at work depends greatly on what type of worker the person is: Public-sector workers have the highest level of participation in a retirement plan, while part-time workers typically are not offered a retirement plan or rarely participate when they are. Among all workers, less than half participate in a retirement plan; among full-time, full-year wage and salary workers, more than half participate in a retirement plan.
General Overview of Benefits
Retirement Issues
-
What are the basic types of retirement plans?
- How much money is held in the various types of retirement plans?
- What percentage of the elderly receive work-related pensions?
- What percentage of the elderly's income comes from pensions and Social Security?
- What are the trends in retirement plan participation in the United States?
- Are the types of retirement plans changing?
- What are the trends in defined benefit pension plans?
Health Spending and Insurance Issues
- What has America spent on health care in recent years?
- Is the average American spending a growing amount on health?
- Are these averages indicative of what a typical family pays for medical care?
- Has the amount Americans spend directly on health been growing?
- Has responsibility for paying medical bills shifted over time?
- What do workers and employers pay for employment-based coverage?
- What do employers pay for health benefits as a percent of compensation?
- How does this pattern compare with what's found in other nations?
- Has the way health dollars are spent changed?
- How many Americans have health insurance?
- Where do Americans get their health insurance?
- Which workers are most likely to have employment-based coverage?
Other Benefit Issues