2017 Issue Briefs
What Does Consistent Participation in 401(k) Plans Generate? Changes in 401(k) Plan Account Balances, 2010–2015
This Issue Brief provides an annual update of a longitudinal analysis of 401(k) plan participants drawn from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database—the largest participant-level database of its kind, with about 26.1 million 401(k) participants at year-end 2015. The average 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants rose each year from 2010 through year-end 2015. Overall, the average account balance increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 13.9 percent from 2010 to 2015, to $143,436 at year-end 2015. The median 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 17.9 percent over the period, to $66,412 at year-end 2015.
Employee Tenure Trends, 1983–2016
The typical American worker stayed at their job just over five years last year, down slightly from the record high since 1983 set in 2014, according to new research by EBRI.
401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2015
The asset allocations of 401(k) retirement plan savers in their 20s at the end of 2015 differed significantly from the allocations of 401(k) participants in their 20s in the mid-1990s, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
Importance of Individual Account Retirement Plans and Home Equity in Family Total Wealth
Home equity and retirement accounts—401(k)-type plans and IRAs—account for nearly all the assets that many families have to depend on in retirement outside of Social Security and traditional pension plans, according to new research from EBRI. Press release.
The 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey: Many Workers Lack Retirement Confidence and Feel Stressed About Retirement Preparations
Many American workers today are feeling stressed about retirement and are not taking steps to prepare for it. And those feeling stressed have lower levels of retirement confidence and are less likely to feel financially secure, according to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) by EBRI and Greenwald & Associates.
Retirement Policy Directions in 2017 and Beyond
With a new Congress and a new president in Washington, how are U.S. retirement policies likely to change? Possibly quite radically, and for two main reasons: First, because of the new majority’s plans to overhaul the entire U.S. tax structure and federal budget in ways that could fundamentally change how private-sector retirement plans are treated in the tax code. And second, because of the drive to simplify and lower income tax rates, tax-favored retirement provisions in the tax code are vulnerable. This article summarizes discussion of these issues at EBRI’s 79th policy forum in Washington last December. Press release.
Geographic Variation in Spending Among Older American Households
Most discussion about retirement preparation revolves around national averages, but a lot could actually depend on where you live in retirement. A new study by EBRI finds large variations in spending by older households across the country. Press release.
How Does the Level of Household Savings Affect Preference for Immediate Annuities?
Which groups of people prefer immediate annuities? A new analysis by EBRI finds that it’s those at the lowest and highest ends of the wealth spectrum, because those with inadequate assets might value a regular stream of income very highly and those with the most might expect to live longer and can also afford it even after leaving a bequest.
Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, Withdrawals, and Asset Allocation Longitudinal Results 2010–2014: The EBRI IRA Database
Most owners of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) do not contribute to them every year—but more than half of those who contribute put in the maximum amount allowed by law, according to the most recent analysis of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s unique IRA Database.
