Issue Briefs

Even though American workers are evenly split in their satisfaction levels with employer-provided benefits, the latest “value of benefits” by EBRI continues to find that companies offering benefits have a competitive advantage over those that do not. Press release. EBRI Notes Apr 18, 2017 12 pages

When workers are offered more than one health plan, who switches their plans, and does it lead to adverse selection, causing healthy workers to leave certain health plans saddled with only high-cost sick workers? Evidence suggests it’s mostly younger workers or higher-income workers without family coverage who switch?which does indeed raise the risk of adverse selection, according to a new analysis by EBRI. EBRI Issue Brief Mar 23, 2017 24 pages

Many American workers today are feeling stressed about retirement and are not taking steps to prepare for it. And those feeling stressed have lower levels of retirement confidence and are less likely to feel financially secure, according to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) by EBRI and Greenwald & Associates. EBRI Issue Brief Mar 21, 2017 32 pages

With a new Congress and a new president in Washington, how are U.S. retirement policies likely to change? Possibly quite radically, and for two main reasons: First, because of the new majority’s plans to overhaul the entire U.S. tax structure and federal budget in ways that could fundamentally change how private-sector retirement plans are treated in the tax code. And second, because of the drive to simplify and lower income tax rates, tax-favored retirement provisions in the tax code are vulnerable. This article summarizes discussion of these issues at EBRI’s 79th policy forum in Washington last December. Press release. EBRI Notes Feb. 27, 2017 8 pages

Under President Trump, how, exactly, is the Affordable Care Act (ACA) likely to change, and how will this fundamental policy shift affect the U.S. health care and health insurance systems? The short answer, as the new administration was taking shape: Nobody knows. But whether it’s a “repeal and replace,” as many congressional Republicans have advocated ever since the law was enacted in 2010, or “repeal and delay” or “partial repeal” or “repair” (as some are now suggesting) or just “repeal,” it seems certain that change is on the way. This article summarizes discussion of these issues by a panel of experts at EBRI’s 79th policy forum held in Washington last December, and attended by more than a hundred people. Press release. EBRI Notes Feb 23, 2017 12 pages

Most discussion about retirement preparation revolves around national averages, but a lot could actually depend on where you live in retirement. A new study by EBRI finds large variations in spending by older households across the country. Press release.

 

EBRI Notes Feb 21, 2017 12 pages

Which groups of people prefer immediate annuities? A new analysis by EBRI finds that it’s those at the lowest and highest ends of the wealth spectrum, because those with inadequate assets might value a regular stream of income very highly and those with the most might expect to live longer and can also afford it even after leaving a bequest. EBRI Issue Brief Feb 8, 2017 20 pages

Projected savings targets needed to cover health care in retirement went up last year after several years of decline, but are still generally lower than they were five years ago, according to new research by EBRI. EBRI Notes Jan 31, 2017 12 pages

Most owners of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) do not contribute to them every year—but more than half of those who contribute put in the maximum amount allowed by law, according to the most recent analysis of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s unique IRA Database. EBRI Issue Brief Jan 17, 2017 32 pages

So-called “narrow provider networks,” which limit covered health providers in health plans, do not appear to be crossing over rapidly from the Affordable Care Act’s health exchanges into employment-based health plans, according to a new analysis by EBRI and Mark A. Hall, J.D., Wake Forest University, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Changes in Health Care Financing & Organization (HCFO) Initiative. EBRI Issue Brief Dec 14, 2016 20 pages