"Employment-Based Retirement and Pension Plan Participation:
Geographic Differences and Trends"
No author cited
Employee Benefit Research Institute, April 2003.
Available Online
According to this study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 55.3
percent of all workers worked for an employer or union that sponsored some
form of pension or retirement plan and 43 percent of all workers participated
in these programs. For wage and salary workers the sponsorship and participation
rates rise to 61.7 percent and 49.8 percent respectively. The study, which
looked at worker participation in pension and retirement plans between 1987
and 2001, revealed that workers at large employers were more likely to participate
in an employment-based plan. Eighteen percent of all workers at companies
with fewer than 10 employees participated in a plan, compared to 61.6 percent
of those working for an employer with 1,000 or more employees.
Between 1987 and 2000, participation has increased from 37.6 percent to
44.4 percent. Participation rates, however, saw a significant decline from
2000 to 2001, dropping 1.4 percent. Small employer, part-time, and part-year
workers had higher retirement-plan participation levels in 2001 relative
to 1987, but as the economy continues to stagnate, these workers may have
less access to these programs, as employers may have to cut back on their
offerings to remain profitable. Sadly, workers with traditionally high levels
of participation did not experience a significant increase in their rate
of participation during the prosperous 1990s. Overall, the level of participation
in retirement plans has shown only a small increase from 1987 to 2001 and
appears, in the short term, to be trending downward.
