Issue Briefs

401(k) participants who invested in target-date funds (TDFs) overwhelmingly tend to stick with these investments over time, according to new research by EBRI. Just over 90 percent of 401(k) participants investing in TDFs in 2007 stuck with them through 2009. Using a proxy for the auto-enrollment status of participants, those identified as auto-enrollees were even more likely to have stayed with TDFs, at a rate over 95 percent. 401(k) participants who were younger and had lower account balances were more likely to use TDFs and to continue to use them. Those more likely to stop investing in TDFs were older, had longer tenure, or had higher account balances, although these participants overall stayed with TDFs at a high rate. EBRI Issue Brief Aug 30, 2011 24 pages

Tax Cap: A new analysis from EBRI finds that the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposed tax reform for 401(k)-type retirement plans would cause the greatest reduction in retirement savings for both the highest- and lowest-income workers.

Union Health Insurance: Both union and nonunion employment-based health benefits were affected by the recent economic recession—but unionized worker health insurance coverage suffered less, according to a new analysis from EBRI.

EBRI Notes Jul 11, 2011 16 pages

A new analysis from EBRI finds that workers may prefer to enter insurance exchanges over keeping employment-based health coverage if the tax treatment for health benefits through work is eliminated or significantly cut back as part of the federal debt-reduction effort. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 7, 2011 24 pages

As various states grapple with reforming their public employee pension systems, the experience of how the federal government managed pension reform 25 years ago may provide some useful background to governors and state legislatures. This article takes a look at how the federal government handled pension reform and the political and legislative forces involved when Congress enacted the Federal Employee Retirement System Act of 1986. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 1, 2011 24 pages

Health coverage: The likelihood a worker will or will not have employment-based health benefits depends strongly on the strength of the economy and the unemployment rate. For instance, from December 2007–August 2009, while the most recent recession was underway, the percentage of private-sector workers with employment-based coverage in their own name fell from 60.4 percent to 55.9 percent. However, by December 2009, when the recession officially ended, the percentage slightly increased to 56.6 percent. Press release.

Annuities: Building on the May 2011 EBRI Issue Brief, this article analyzes how changes in longevity annuity prices and longevity risk affect retirement income adequacy of retirees facing three different types of risk—investment income, longevity, and long-term care risk.

EBRI Notes Jun 21, 2011 20 pages

A new study by EBRI finds that if Baby Boomers and Gen Xers delay their retirement past the age of 65, many of them still would not have adequate income to cover their basic retirement expenses and uninsured health care costs. The research also shows that even if a worker delays his or her retirement age into their 80s, there is still a chance the household will be “at risk” of running short of money in retirement. However, the chance of success for retirement adequacy improves significantly as individuals reach their late 70s and early 80s. EBRI Issue Brief Jun 7, 2011 36 pages

IRAs: This article provides the first detailed IRA asset allocation information from EBRI IRA Database,^TM the only database that is able to anonymously link individual IRA owners across multiple IRA providers. Press release

CDHPs: In the 10 years that consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) have existed they have tended to attract participants who are better educated, healthier, and have higher incomes than people in traditional health plans, but in recent years, the income differences have begun to narrow. Press release

EBRI Notes May 24, 2011 24 pages

For new retirees wanting to ensure they don’t run short of money in retirement, two products offer a source of guaranteed lifetime income: immediate annuities (which immediately begin to generate lifetime income) and longevity annuities (which delay payments until the retiree hits an advanced age, such as 80 or 85). New research by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) finds that, generally, either type would be effective at reaching desired income adequacy targets—especially for lower-income retirees. EBRI Issue Brief May 18, 2011 36 pages

In yet another measure of damage from the recent economic recession, new data from EBRI show that 2009 marked both the sharpest one-year decline in employment-based health coverage for working-age Americans, and also the first time in recent history that less than 60 percent of individuals under age 65 had health benefits through their job. EBRI Issue Brief Apr 27, 2011 20 pages

Health Benefits: The future of employment-based health programs in the wake of the 2010 November election and the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was just one of the topics addressed by human resource and health policy experts at EBRI’s 67th Fall policy forum last December.

Future Eligibility in DC Plans: New research from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) shows that being eligible to participate in a defined contribution retirement plan at work is a key factor in whether workers will have enough money to afford basic expenses and cover uninsured medical care in retirement.

EBRI Notes Apr 21, 2011 20 pages