- EBRI and its Education and Research Fund
- EBRI’s 30th Anniversary
- EBRI’s 25th Anniversary
- Honoraria for Presentations
- Letter from the President
- Use by non-members
- President’s Report
- Most Viewed
- Publications
- By Topic
- Data Book
- Facts from EBRI
- Fast Facts
- Fundamentals
- Issue Briefs
- Notes
- Policy Books
- President’s Reports
- Press Releases
- Special Reports
- Testimony
- Resources
- Benefit Bibliography
- Benefit FAQs
- Links to Other Internet Resources
- Reference Shelf
- Special Issues of Periodicals
- What’s New in Employee Benefits
FAQs About Benefits—Retirement Issues
What are the trends in retirement plan participation in the United States?
Retirement plan participation (the percentage of the workforce who participates in a plan regardless of eligibility) has held somewhat steady from 1987-2005. However, participation for all workers increased from 37.6% to 40.9% from 1987 to 2005, but for full-time, full-year workers, the participation decreased from 58.4% to 54.8%. After the percentages peaked in 1999 and 2000, they declined reaching their lowest levels since 1993.
For further information on retirement plan participation, see "Employment-Based Retirement Plan Participation," EBRI Issue Brief, October 2005.
General Overview of Benefits
Retirement Issues
- What are the basic types of retirement plans?
- How much money is held in the various types of retirement plans?
- What percentage of the elderly receive work-related pensions?
- What percentage of the elderly's income comes from pensions and Social Security?
- What are the trends in retirement plan participation in the United States?
- Are the types of retirement plans changing?
- What are the trends in defined benefit pension plans?
Health Spending and Insurance Issues
- What has America spent on health care in recent years?
- Is the average American spending a growing amount on health?
- Are these averages indicative of what a typical family pays for medical care?
- Has the amount Americans spend directly on health been growing?
- Has responsibility for paying medical bills shifted over time?
- What do workers and employers pay for employment-based coverage?
- What do employers pay for health benefits as a percent of compensation?
- How does this pattern compare with what's found in other nations?
- Has the way health dollars are spent changed?
- How many Americans have health insurance?
- How has the coverage pattern changed over time?
- Where do Americans get their health insurance?
- Which workers are most likely to have employment-based coverage?
- How have health plans changed in the past quarter century?
Other Benefit Issues