At a Glance | June 20, 2019 Retirement Plan Participation Among Selected Demographic Segments UPDATED QUESTIONNAIRE Number of Workers Ages 21–64 Participating in an Employment-Based Retirement Plan In 2014, the Current Population 51.4M Survey questionnaire was 48.8M 46.6M redesigned, resulting in a drop 42.5M 42.2M in retirement plan participation estimates when compared with the results from the original questionnaire. B EFO R E R ED E S I G N A F T E R R E D E S I G N 2011 2013 2015 2017 RELATIVE RATIOS Ratio of Participation Relative to Group With the Highest Participation Rate The ratio of retirement 2011 2013 2015 2017 plan participation remained Age Group consistent after the 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 55–64 R a tiowhen 0.97 0.97 0.95 0.98 45–54 0.95 questionnaire redesign. compar edwith 0.90 0.89 0.85 0.86 0.89 35–44 agegr oup The youngest cohort and 0.76 0.76 25–34 0.75 0.74 0.71 withhighest Hispanic workers recorded par ticipa tion: 0.51 the lowest levels of plan Ages 55–64 0.48 0.48 21–24 0.45 0.43 participation. B EFO R E R ED E S I G N A F T E R R E D E S I G N Demographic R a tiowhen 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 White compar edwith 0.90 0.90 0.88 0.87 0.86 Black demogr aphic withhighest 0.65 Hispanic 0.64 par ticipa tion: 0.61 0.60 0.57 White B EFO R E R ED E S I G N A F T E R R E D E S I G N DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS Percentage of Workers Ages 21–64 Participating in an Employment-Based Retirement Plan, by Ethnicity Lower participation levels and Annual Earnings Native-Born 55% Hispanic among Hispanic workers 2017 53% White persisted across each of the 51% Black 49% Hispanic income categories. This 42% Nonnative-Born appears to have been driven Hispanic by the nonnative-born Hispanic cohort. In the upper income bracket of the study, the native-born Hispanic cohort had the highest 13% 11% participation rate. 10% 8% 7% Annual <$20k $ 20k – $ 3 9 . 9k $40k – $ 7 4 . 9k $75k+ Earnings Source: Craig Copeland. “Current Population Survey: Checking in on the Retirement Plan Participation and Retiree Income Estimates,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 483 (Employee Benefit Research Institute, May 30, 2019). © 2019 EBRI This report is copyrighted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). You may copy, print, or download this report solely for personal and noncommercial use, provided that all hard copies retain any and all copyright and other applicable notices contained therein, and you may cite or quote small portions of the report provided that you do so verbatim and with proper citation. Any use beyond the scope of the foregoing requires EBRI’s prior express permission. For permissions, please contact EBRI at permissions@ebri.org.