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Health Insurance Coverage of the Near Elderly,1994-2005; and IRA Assets, Contributions, and Market Share

Health Insurance of the Near Elderly: Future retired adults 55-64 may experience an increase in the likelihood of being uninsured if employer cutbacks in retiree health benefits affect them and they have no other means of obtaining health insurance. Individual retirement accounts: IRA assets experienced their third consecutive year of growth in 2005, reaching a record high of $3.67 trillion, and are likely to become the single largest source of retirement assets outside of Social Security for private-sector workers in retirement, according to a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Press release EBRI Notes Jan 9, 2007 16 pages

Survey Finds Federal Workers Share Poor Retirement Planning With All Workers, but Have More Savings; and Facts from EBRI: Employer Spending on Benefits, 2005

A survey of the federal civilian work force shows that federal workers expect to retire earlier than American workers as a whole and say they have saved more money—but are almost as bad at planning for retirement as all workers, according to a study publishedby the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Press release. EBRI Notes Dec 12, 2006 12 pages

The 2nd Annual EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey, 2006: Early Experience With High-Deductible and Consumer-Driven Health Plans

Enrollment in consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) remains low, satisfaction continues to lag when compared with more comprehensive health insurance, and CDHPs do not appear to be having an impact on reducing the number of people without health insurance, according to this survey by EBRI and The Commonwealth Fund. EBRI Issue Brief Dec 7, 2006 48 pages

How Readable Are Summary Plan Descriptions For Health Care Plans?

The summary plan description (SPD) is the primary source of information for workers who participate in an employment-based health care plan. This study finds that important information contained in many SPDs is written at a reading level that may be too high for the average plan participant. Findings suggest that fundamental improvements are needed in the readability of written SPDs, and that employers and plan administrators should explore the use of alternative methods of communication to plan participants beyond the written SPD. Press release EBRI Notes Oct 11, 2006 12 pages

Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2006 Current Population Survey

The proportion of uninsured working-age Americans rose slightly to 17.9 percent in 2005, and the overall percentage of the population under age 65 with health insurance declined in 2005 to a post-1994 low of 82.1 percent. This Issue Brief provides historic data through 2005 on the number and percentage of nonelderly individuals with and without health insurance. It also discusses trends in coverage for the 1994–2005 period and highlights characteristics that typically indicate whether an individual is insured. EBRI Issue Brief Oct 3, 2006 32 pages