Issue Briefs

EBRI’s calculations from recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that employment-based coverage remains the dominant source of health insurance, but continues to erode, declining by more than 2 percentage points last year. Overall, the percentage of individuals under age 65 with employment-based coverage declined from 61.1 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2009—its lowest level in the 15-year period between 1994 and 2009. EBRI Issue Brief Sep 22, 2010 40 pages

This report provides initial results of a new EBRI database on individual retirement accounts (IRAs), which for the first time allows researchers to more accurately measure IRA assets and ownership across multiple data providers, and to track retirement assets as they move through different types of retirement plans. For instance, the EBRI IRA Database finds that when owners of more than one IRA are identified and their assets are combined, their total IRA balance is about 25 percent higher than the unaggregated account average within the database. The EBRI IRA Databases unique in that it can link the accounts of individuals with more than one account in the database, thus aggregating total IRA assets and giving a more realistic picture of their IRA-based retirement savings. Not only will EBRI be able to link individuals within and across data providers in the database, but in the near future it will also be able to link the data with participants in 401(k) plans, allowing retirement funds to be tracked as they are generated, rolled over, and ultimately used. The data security techniques used by data providers assure that EBRI has no ability to identify individuals so that all privacy is assured. EBRI Issue Brief Sep 21, 2010 20 pages

Findings from the 2010 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) demonstrate that, despite the recent passage of health reform, dissatisfaction with the American health care system remains widespread. Furthermore, while confidence regarding various aspects of today’s health care system is not high, it has neither fallen nor increased as a result of the passage of health reform. Press release. EBRI Notes Sep 15, 2010 24 pages

This report by EBRI provides a detailed summary of what is known about consumer-driven health plans, a relatively new option for paying for medical expenses that first began to appear nearly a decade ago. Consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) consist of both health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). The EBRI report examines trends in offer rates and enrollment, differences in premiums between CDHPs and other types of insurance, and discusses the drivers of the premium differences. EBRI Issue Brief Aug 4, 2010 28 pages

The first report presents new EBRI findings that the dependent-child mandate under the new health reform law may increase premiums and that estimates of  the size of the population that might enroll in their parents’ employment-based coverage may be understated. Press release The second report summarizes new research and discussion at EBRI's May 2010 policy forum. Press release. EBRI Notes Aug 3, 2010 20 pages

TDFs: The use of target-date funds, a relatively new 401(k) plan option, is more likely among participants who are younger, have lower account balances, and have shorter tenure at their current job, according to a study released by EBRI. Press release. Early Retiree Program: This article finds that if the PPACA early retiree subsidy were drawn down for all early retirees and their dependents, $2.5 billion of the $5 billion available would be exhausted in the first year of the program. The $5 billion would last no more than two years and would not be available in 2012 or 2013. Press release. EBRI Notes Jul 15, 2010 16 pages

With Americans living longer in retirement, the 2010 EBRI Retirement Readiness Rating™ shows dramatically high percentages of Americans—even in the upper-income categories—are likely to run short of money after 10 or 20 years of retirement. The new analysis by EBRI finds that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans in the two lowest preretirement income levels will be running short after 10 years in retirement. However, the EBRI study also finds that after 20 years of retirement, almost a third (29 percent) of those in the next-to-highest income level will run short of money, as will more than 1 in 10 (13 percent) of those in the highest-income level. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 13, 2010 36 pages

Social Security was the largest source of income for those currently age 65 and older, accounting for nearly 40 percent of their income on average, in 2008, according to a study released today by EBRI. However, the importance of Social Security varied widely, with the lowest income group very heavily dependent on the federal retirement program compared with those who have high incomes. Press release EBRI Notes Jun 3, 2010 16 pages

Assets in health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), two relatively new employment-based health benefit plan options , have grown in recent years and totaled $7.1 billion in 2009, up from $835.4 million three years earlier, according to a study by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). In addition, the number of accounts in these plans, collectively known as consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs), also was up during the same period—totaling 5 million in 2009, up from 1.2 million in 2006. EBRI Issue Brief Jun 1, 2010 32 pages

Assets in individual account retirement plan assets are concentrated in families with a set of common characteristics—higher net worth, higher family income, higher educational attainment, with older family heads, and with white, non-Hispanic heads, according to a study released by EBRI. Press release EBRI Notes May 6, 2010 20 pages