Workplace Benefits Survey: Most workers are satisfied with the health benefits they have now and express little interest in changing the current mix of benefits and wages offered by their employers, according to a new survey by EBRI.
DB-DC: How generous would a traditional pension plan have to be in order to produce as much income as a 401(k)? New modeling from EBRI finds there’s no simple answer, but rather tremendous variation, depending on the different factors involved.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Consumer-driven Health Plans: It is often assumed that consumer-driven health plan enrollees are more likely than those with traditional coverage to be young, because they use less health care, on average. However, that is generally not the case in recent years, according to new research by EBRI. Press release.
Multiple Retirement Plans: People who own more than one type of retirement plan are more likely to invest a higher percentage in equities (stocks) than those who don’t, according to new research by EBRI. Press release.
Retirement-Savings Targets: The use of online calculators and retirement advisors has been linked to higher levels of retirement confidence – and with justification, according to new research from EBRI.
Health Benefits: With key provisions of the federal health care reform law scheduled to take effect in the near future, what’s in store for the existing system of employment-based health benefits? That was the focus of the 71st policy forum sponsored by EBRI, which brought in some of the nation’s top health experts, including Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi. Employment-based health benefits remain the most common form of health coverage in the United States.
Debt of the Elderly: American families headed by individuals age 75 or older had increases in the incidence of debt, the average amount of debt held, and the percentage with debt payments greater than 40 percent of their income in 2010, according to new research by EBRI. The driver of debt for families with a head age 55 or older was housing debt. Press release.
HRA/HSA Contributions: A growing share of both employers and individual participants are contributing to their health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs), according to a new report from EBRI. Press release.
Views on Health Coverage and Retirement: More than half of all workers say they intend to work longer than they would like in order to keep their health insurance at work, according to new research by EBRI. But less than 1 in 5 retirees say they were able to work longer to continue receiving health insurance through their jobs. Press release.
Tax Preferences and Mandates: A recent study found that tax incentives for retirement savings in Denmark had virtually no impact on increasing total savings But are those findings relevant to the United States? Maybe not, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.
