Reports
Many government agencies and private organizations collect statistics, conduct studies, and issue reports related to pensions and retirement income security. See the latest reports on the following topics:
General Statistics, Surveys, and Reports on Retirement Policy, Wealth, Income, and Poverty
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Retirement Income: Ensuring Income throughout Retirement Requires Difficult Choices
Government Accountability Office (June 2011)
General Statistics, Surveys, and Reports on Retirement Policy
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Retirement Income: Challenges for Ensuring Income throughout Retirement
(Government Accountability Office, April 2010)
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Veterans’ Benefits: Pension Benefit Programs
(Congressional Research Service, February 2010)
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Is Pension Inequality Growing?
(Center for Retirement Research, January 2010)
Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans, Public Pension Plans
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Decisions, Decisions: Retirement Plan Choices for Public Employees and Employers
National Institute on Retirement Security (September 2011)
Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans
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A Better Bang for the Buck: The Economic Efficiencies of DB Plans
(National Institute on Retirement Security, August 2008)
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Patience is a Virtue: Asset Allocation Patterns of DB & DC Plans
(National Institute on Retirement Security, July 2008)
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Retirement Readiness: What Difference Does A Pension Make?
(National Institute on Retirement Security, May 2008)
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
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Unfair Pension Takebacks: What Can Be Done to Protect Retirees
(Pension Rights Center)
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Little Information Available on Qualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans
(Government Accountability Office, May 2011)
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Program Perspectives: "Frozen Defined-benefit Plans
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2010)
Defined Contribution Plans (such as 401(k)s) and IRAs
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Federal Employee Participation Patterns in the Thrift Savings Plan Calendar Year 2007
(Office of Personnal Management, April 2010)
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Returns on 401(k) Assets by Cohort
(Center for Retirement Research, March 2010)
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Does Autoenrollment Affect Employer Contributions?
(Urban Institute, December 2009)
Pension Plan Freezes, Terminations, and Other Changes
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Program Perspectives: "Frozen Defined-benefit Plans
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2010)
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The Disappearing Defined Benefit Pension and Its Potential Impact on the Retirement Incomes of Baby Boomers
(Social Security Administration, October 2009)
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Alternatives to Frozen Defined Benefit Pension Plans
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, August 2009)
Wealth, Income, and Poverty
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From Bad to Worse: Senior Economic Insecurity on the Rise
(Demos and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy, July 2011)
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Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being
(Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, January 2011)
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Older Americans in Poverty: A Snapshot
(AARP, April 2010)
Retirement Security for Women and People of Color
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Retirement Security for Women: Progress to Date and Policies for Tomorrow
(Retirement Security Project, April 2008)
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From Work to Retirement: Tracking Changes in Women's Poverty Status
(Institute for Women's Policy Research and AARP's Public Policy Institute, February 2008)
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Older Women's Income and Wealth Packages in Cross-National Perspective
(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, February 2008)
Polls Related to Retirement Security
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Retirement on the Edge: Women,Men, and Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession
Institute for Women's Policy Research/Rockefeller Foundation (October 2011)
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Retirement and Health Poll: Topline
NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health (September 2011)
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Survey: Redefining the American Dream
(National Endowment for Financial Education, August 2011)
Public Pension Plans
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The Origins and Severity of the Public Pension Crisis
(Center for Economic and Policy Research, February 2011)
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Federal Employee Participation Patterns in the Thrift Savings Plan Calendar Year 2007
(Office of Personnal Management, April 2010)
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Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation Over 20 Years
(National Institute on Retirement Security and Center for State and Local Government Excellence, April 2010)
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Spotlight
Wondering how much you can contribute to your retirement plan this year? Read our helpful fact sheet to find out. The fact sheet also includes contribution limits for previous years. Read the fact sheet.
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Did You Know?
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is the federal law that regulates most private retirement plans. The government agencies responsible for enforcing ERISA are the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
