Pension Publications

Many government agencies and private organizations collect statistics, conduct studies, and issue reports related to pensions and retirement income security. Click the links below to read reports on the following topics:

General Pension Studies
General Wealth and Savings Reports
Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans
Defined Benefit Plans
Defined Contribution Plans
Pension Plan Freezes, Changes, and Trends
Women's Retirement Security
Polls related to Retirement Security
Public Pension Plans

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These are the latest reports added to our web site:

• Robbing Tomorrow to Pay for Today: Economically Squeezed Families Are Turning to Their 401(k)s to Make Ends Meet (Center for American Progress, July 2008). To reduce the likelihood of workers leveraging their retirement to cover current catastrophes, policymakers must reduce the need for people to borrow. Policy solutions will require substantial improvements to income growth for America’s families, and a commitment to providing health and unemployment insurance to citizens who experience unexpected health expenditures and job loss. To understand the need for such policy actions, this report considers the evidence on loans drawn from DC plans from 1989 to 2004, the last year for which complete data are available.

• National Compensation Survey: Retirement Benefits in State and Local Governments in the United States, 2007 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, May 2008). This summary presents findings of the 2007 National
  Compensation Survey (NCS) regarding detailed provisions
  of retirement plans in State and local governments.

• Retirement Readiness: What Difference Does A Pension Make? (National Institute on Retirement Security, May 2008). This brief reviews the evidence on the role defined benefit pensions play in ensuring that older Americans have the resources they need to be self-sufficient in retirement. (on the Defined Benefit Plans reports page and on the Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans reports page)

• Understanding and Managing the Risks of Retirement: 2007 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey Report (Society of Actuaries, May 2008). The 2007 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey evaluates Americans’ awareness of retirement risk, how their awareness has changed, and how their awareness affects management of their finances. The 2007 Survey included a new area of exploration—the phases of retirement. (on the Polls related to Retirement Security page)

• Summary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (Congressional Research Service, April 2008). This report provides background on the pension laws prior to ERISA, discusses various types of employee benefit plans governed by ERISA, provides an overview of ERISA's requirements, and includes a glossary of commonly used terms. (on the General Pension Studies page)

• Retirement Security for Women: Progress to Date and Policies for Tomorrow (Retirement Security Project, April 2008). With half of all working women saving an estimated $34,000 in IRA or 401(k)-style saving accounts, as compared to an estimated $70,000 for men, the paper examines the available data on women and retirement and offers an array of policy solutions aimed at closing the saving gap between men and women. (on the Women's Retirement Security page)

• What the Public Really Wants...on Retirement and Social Security (Century Foundation and Center for American Progress, January 2008). In this new brief from Ruy Teixeira's What the Public Really Wants...series, polling data consistently show that not having enough money for retirement is at the top of Americans’ economic concerns. (on the Polls related to Retirement Security page)