the questio nnaire redesign. One exception is workers of Hispanic ethnicity: this demographic group appears to have improved its participation level relative to other workers. The ratio of the Hispanic For Immediate Release worker retirement plan participation level to the white worker retirement plan participation level increased from 0.57 in 2011 to 0.65 in 2017. Contact: As race/ethnicity cohorts are further examined by earnings levels, the lower participation levels among Hispanic workers persist across each of the income categories. However, this appears to be driven by Betsy Jaffe the cohort of Hispanics who were born outside of the U.S. The difference in the participation levels Director, Marketing and Public Relations between the other race/ethnicity cohorts and the cohort of Hispanics born in the United States narrows Employee Benefit Research Institute as the earnings of the workers increase. In contrast, this does not happen among the nonnative-born press-media@ebri.org Hispanic workers, keeping the overall Hispanic worker participation levels low. 202.775.6347 Copeland concludes, “Given the issues with the estimates on retirement plan participation and the amount of income captured in the CPS, improved and/or more data sources are needed to determine the income adequacy of retirees throughout retirement, which is a critical policy issue.” Current Population Survey Estimates of Retirement Plan Participation Misleading, yet Estimates Among Demographic Cohorts Remain Useful Other findings include: ? The overall percentage of workers participating in a retirement plan leveled off: For the first Improvements seen in Hispanic workers’ participation levels relative to other cohorts time since the questionnaire was redesigned, a significant decline was not found for the retirement plan participation estimates from the year before. Full-time, full-year wage and salary workers ages 21–64 participating in an employment-based retirement plan held steady in Washington, D.C. – May 30, 2019 – A new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds 2017 at 41.4 percent compared with 41.0 percent in 2016. This was after a drop from 54.5 that the estimates from the Current Population Survey (CPS) showing that the percentage of full-time, percent in 2013 before the questionnaire redesign. full-year wage and salary workers in the U.S. ages 21–64 participating in an employment-based retirement plan held steady between 2016 and 2017. However, the levels of and trends in retirement ? The survey estimates do not conform to trends in another government survey: Under the plan participation from the CPS remain inconsistent with other government data sources since the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Compensation Survey (NCS), the percentage of private- questionnaire was redesigned in 2014. Still, the relative levels of participation across demographic sector wage and salary workers at establishments with 500 or more employees participating in cohorts that can be ascertained from the survey provide important information and are consistent both an employment-based retirement plan remained relatively flat between 2013 and 2017 at before and after the survey was redesigned. around 76 percent. In contrast, similar numbers from the CPS found that the percentage participating decreased from 64 percent in 2013 before the redesign to 47 percent in 2017. The The EBRI Issue Brief, “Current Population Survey: Checking in on the Retirement Plan Participation and flattening out in 2017 did nothing to lessen this discrepancy. Retiree Income Estimates,” examines data contained in the latest Annual Social and Economic Supp ?lem Tent he su tor t ve he y r Cedes PS, co ign nd d uicte d nd o by t futh lly e ca U.S pt . Censu ure retire s Bureau e inco, me: and Ev co en m afte pares fin r the dredesig ings with n, t pre he v Cio PS t us otal retirement income amounts for 2015 and 2016 were only 63.1 percent of the IRS’s 2015 years. The CPS has traditionally been one of the most often used data for the sources of income for those wh repo o are rt near ed am o o r a un t t re an tirem d 65.4 ent ag perce e. T nt ho ef redesig the 201 n 6 o lev f the C el. HP oS we inv clu er, t ded his i sev s up era fro l chan m 3g 2es .3 t p o er itcent s income before the questionnaire redesign. questions. This was done in an attempt to capture more income that had been missing. However, the survey redesign resulted in lower retirement plan participation estimates despite the questions not The study, “Current Population Survey: Checking in on the Retirement Plan Participation and Retiree changing with regard to participation — which some policy advocates have misinterpreted as actual Income Estimates,” is available at www.ebri.org. changes in the employment-based retirement plan system. About EBRI Craig Copeland, EBRI senior research associate and author of the study, points out, “While there have been concerns about the resulting estimates of employment-based retirement plan participation from the C The EP m S sin ploy ce ee th Ben e qefit uestio Rese nnarch aire In was stitute redesig is a pri ned in vat 2 e, 01 n4 o, nthere partisan is s , n till o useful nprofit inf reo sea rmrch atio institu n thatte can based in be fo Washi und in relati ngton, D o C, n t that f o dem ocus ograp es o hn ic chara health, cte sav ristics ings, r .” et irement, and financial security issues. EBRI does not lobby and does not take policy positions. The work of EBRI is made possible by funding from its m Spe ecificall mbers and y, the E spo BRI stud nsors, w yh fo o incl undu td he at a br the rat oad rang ios of ethe of pu percentag blic, privat es e, of w foro -p rk ro ers fit p an articip d non atin pro gfit in retirement plans were generally found to be consistent across all demographic cohorts before and after organizations. For more information visit www.ebri.org.