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EBRI

Issue Briefs

“2013 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey: Nearly 90% of Workers Satisfied With Their Own Health Plan, But 55% Give Low Ratings to Health Care System,” and “How Does Household Income Change in the Ten Years Around Age 65?”

Health Care Satisfaction—While the vast majority of workers say they are satisfied with their own health insurance plan, more than half give low ratings to the American heath care system as a whole, according to a new survey by EBRI and Greenwald & Associates. Press release.

Household Income—Will Americans have to live on less after they turn age 65? It often depends on how much your income was before you turned age 65, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.

EBRI Notes Sep 26, 2013 16 pages

“Retirement Plan Participation: Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Data, 2012,” and “Satisfaction With Health Coverage and Care: Findings from the 2012 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey”

Retirement Participation: Since the end of the economic recession, a higher percentage of workers are working for employers that offer retirement plans and a higher percentage of them are participating in the plans, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.

Health Satisfaction: Americans with health insurance appear to be warming up to so-called consumer-driven health plans, even as the traditionally greater popularity of traditional health plans is slipping, according to new research from EBRI. Press release.

EBRI Notes Aug 28, 2013 24 pages

“Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995–2012,” and “Decisions, Decisions: Choices That Affect Retirement Income Adequacy—EBRI’s 72nd Policy ..

Health Care Coverage: Although the economy continues to grow in the wake of the recent recession, the percentage of workers with health benefits is not following suit, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.

Retirement Income Adequacy: A wide variety of internal and external forces influence the retirement readiness of Americans, and a recent policy forum sponsored by EBRI examined those factors, as well as a series of strategic and tactical decisions that can mitigate their impact. Press release.

EBRI Notes Jul 18, 2013 24 pages

Reality Checks: A Comparative Analysis of Future Benefits from Private-Sector, Voluntary-Enrollment 401(k) Plans vs. Stylized, Final-Average-Pay Defined Benefit and Cash Balance Plans

Which type of retirement plan is likely to produce more money for retirement: A voluntary-enrollment 401(k), a traditional final-average defined benefit plan, or one of the newer cash balance plans? A detailed analysis by EBRI finds there is no single answer because a multitude of factors affect the ultimate outcome: interest rates and investment returns; the level and length of participation; an individual’s age, job tenure, and remaining length of time in the work force; and the purchase price of an annuity, among other things. EBRI Issue Brief Jun 28, 2013 52 pages

“What a Sustained Low-yield Rate Environment Means for Retirement Income Adequacy: Results From the 2013 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model,®” and “Use of Health Care Services and Access Issues by Type of Health Plan: Findings from the EBRI/MG ..

Low-yields and Retirement: As many retirees and workers have discovered, today’s historically low interest rates are crimping their retirement savings. Now a new study by EBRI quantifies the impact of a sustained low-interest rate environment on America’s retirement readiness.

Health Access: Whether it’s a “consumer-driven,” high-deductible, or traditional managed-care health plan, a significant number of people with health insurance report problems with access to health care services, according to new research by EBRI.

EBRI Notes Jun 25, 2013 24 pages

Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, and Rollovers, 2011: The EBRI IRA Database

Where does the money come go in individual retirement accounts (IRAs)? Most of the new contributions go into Roth IRAs, but most of the assets are held in traditional IRAs, where the money originated from a rollover from other tax-qualified retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) and not from new contributions, according to new research by EBRI. Press release. EBRI Issue Brief May 23, 2013 28 pages

"Trends in Health Coverage for Part-Time Workers," and "IRA Withdrawals: How Much, When, and Other Saving Behavior"

Part-time Workers: Whether or not the federal health insurance reform law causes employers to hire part-time workers, the trend away from full-time employment is already underway, according to new research from EBRI. Press release.

IRA Withdrawals: Those Americans between ages 61 and 70, who are withdrawing money from their individual retirement accounts (IRA), are making withdrawals that are larger, both in absolute dollar amounts and as a percentage of their IRA account balance, than those taken by older households, according to a new report from EBRI. Press release.

EBRI Notes May 22, 2013 20 pages