Issue Briefs

Rising health care costs are increasingly changing the way Americans use the health care system. Many of these changes are positive, but others, such as delaying going to the doctor and not filling or skipping doses of prescribed medications, could have a negative impact on patients’ health, according to the 2007 Health Confidence Survey (HCS). Press release EBRI Notes Nov 1, 2007 12 pages

Participation in employment-based retirement plans fell about 2 percentage points in 2006 among workers with the strongest connection to the work force, according to a study published by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). In recent years, participation levels have tended to follow trends in the labor market, although the 2006 retirement plan participation decline occurred when the job market was stable. Press release EBRI Issue Brief Nov 1, 2007 36 pages

Individual account retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), have continued to increase their share of retirement assets, and this share is projected to grow further, particularly for private-sector workers, according to a study published EBRI. The most recent data show that as of 2006, about $7.5 trillion in assets were held in IRAs and private-sector defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s, up from about $4.8 trillion in 2000. Press release EBRI Notes Oct 9, 2007 16 pages

What kind of work do you do? What is your income? Are you a man or woman? How many are employed at the firm where you work? Do you work full time or part time? Answers to these questions are key determinants of an individual’s likelihood of having health insurance, according to the October 2007 EBRI Issue Brief, published by EBRI. EBRI Issue Brief Oct 4, 2007 36 pages

Proposals to change the tax treatment of health insurance could mean the end of employment-based coverage as it now exists in the United States, according to a study by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). EBRI Issue Brief Sep 14, 2007 28 pages

This study by EBRI provides the first estimate of the expected impact of the automatic escalation provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, showing that it is likely to result in a significant increase in 401(k) accumulations, especially for low-income workers. Press release EBRI Notes Sep 12, 2007 12 pages

As an increasing percentage of older Americans are in the labor force, the trend toward more full-time, full-year work among older workers occurs across virtually every demographic group, according to an article published by the nonpartisan EBRI. These trends mark a significant change in behavior for individuals age 55 and older, and are likely driven by their need to obtain affordable employment-based health insurance (as opposed to unaffordable or unavailable coverage in the individual market) and the need to continue to accumulate savings in employment-based defined contribution retirement plans. Press release EBRI Notes Aug 2, 2007 12 pages

The average account balance among American workers who consistently held 401(k) accounts from 1999 through 2006 increased at an annual rate of 8.7 percent, according to the latest analysis of the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database, the largest of its kind. Among this consistent group, the median, or midpoint, account balance increased at an annual rate of 15.1 percent. EBRI Issue Brief Aug 1, 2007 40 pages

More changes are anticipated for the U.S. pension system as a result of legislative and regulatory activity last year. The article recaps the experts’ reactions—at EBRI’s spring 2007 policy forum in Washington, DC—to major developments in the pension world: Enactment of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006, which imposed new funding rules on pension plans, among other things, and major accounting rules issued by the private-sector Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the public-sector Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Press release EBRI Notes Jul 17, 2007 12 pages

A new survey shows that about two-thirds of “traditional” (defined benefit) pension sponsors have either changed the plan in the last two years or intend to do so in the next two years. The most frequent plan changes have been to close the defined benefit plan to new hires or freeze it for all members. Pension plan sponsors say the driving forces behind these pension benefit reductions are a new law by Congress that in some cases significantly increases their pension plan costs, and pending accounting rule changes that are also expected to dramatically increase the cost and risk of offering a pension benefit to workers. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 10, 2007 32 pages