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Self-Insured Health Plans: Recent Trends by Firm Size, 1996-2016

Since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), there has been speculation that an increasing number of small and midsized employers would convert their health plans from fully insured to self-insured plans. The rationale has been that several of the key ACA components—creditable coverage, affordability, essential benefits, and various taxes and fees—would drive up the cost of health coverage, thus possibly making self-insurance (which is viewed by many as generally less expensive than fully-insured alternatives) a more attractive alternative for many employers. While the percentages of smaller establishments with at least one self-insured plan did indeed increase between 2015 and 2016, self-insurance in large establishments declined. As a result, the overall percentage of enrollees in self-insured plans fell from 60 percent to 57.8 percent between 2015 and 2016. Read the full article and accompanying Fast Fact. EBRI Issue Brief Feb 27, 2018 6 pages

Has Enrollment in HSA-Eligible Health Plans Stalled?

Are we seeing fewer enrollments in HSA-eligible health plans? It’s hard to tell. Some surveys look at year-over-year growth of enrollment in HSA-eligible plans, which seems to be leveling off. Other surveys look at the number of health savings accounts being established, which continues to rise – for instance, EBRI finds that 21 percent of all HSAs were established in 2016. Are plan participants driving these differences as they change jobs and/or dis-enroll from HSA-eligible plans while maintaining ownership of existing HSAs and establishing new ones with new plans and / or new employers? What role does public policy play? ) EBRI Issue Brief Feb 16, 2018 14 pages

Workers Rank Health Care as the Most Critical Issue in the United States

Workers rank health care as the most critical issue in the nation, according to new research from EBRI. The survey also finds that a majority of workers describe the health care system as poor or fair, though workers’ satisfaction in their own health plans remains high. Rising health care costs have implications for financial wellbeing among workers. Of the one-half of workers reporting cost increases, 26 percent state they have decreased their contributions to retirement plans, and 43 percent have decreased their contributions to other savings. The survey was made possible with funding support from the following organizations: AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC, Cigna, Mercer LLC, Prudential Financial Inc., The Segal Group, Inc., and Unum Group. EBRI Notes Jan 25, 2018 14 pages

Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, Withdrawals, and Asset Allocation Longitudinal Results 2010–2015

Using the EBRI IRA Database, this Issue Brief examines the trends in account balances, contributions, withdrawals, and asset allocation in IRAs from 2010-2015. Results from both the annual cross-sectional samples and a consistent sample of IRA owners who have been in the database in each year from 2010-2015 are presented. The cross-sectional overall average balance increased 36.1 percent from 2010 to 2015, while the increase for those IRA owners who continuously owned IRAs from 2010-2015 was 47.1 percent. Similarly, the cross-sectional share of assets allocated to equities increased from 45.7 percent in 2010 to 54.7 percent in 2015, while among consistent account owners, the share of assets allocated to equities increased from 44.5 percent in 2010 to 52.6 percent in 2015. Finally, among consistent Traditional IRA owners, 87.2 percent did not contribute to the IRA in any year, as opposed to 60.1 percent of consistent Roth IRA owners not contributing in any year. EBRI Issue Brief Jan. 10, 2018 32 pages

What Does Consistent Participation in 401(k) Plans Generate? Changes in 401(k) Plan Account Balances, 2010–2015

This Issue Brief provides an annual update of a longitudinal analysis of 401(k) plan participants drawn from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database—the largest participant-level database of its kind, with about 26.1 million 401(k) participants at year-end 2015. The average 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants rose each year from 2010 through year-end 2015. Overall, the average account balance increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 13.9 percent from 2010 to 2015, to $143,436 at year-end 2015. The median 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 17.9 percent over the period, to $66,412 at year-end 2015. EBRI Issue Brief Oct 24, 2017 24 pages