Pension Publications

General Pension Studies

• Pension Sponsorship and Participation: Summary of Recent Trends (Congressional Research Service, April 2008). Every March, the Current Population Survey includes questions about employment, income, health insurance, retirement plan participation, and receipt of government benefits during the previous calendar year. This information allows analysts and researchers to calculate the number and percentage of workers who reported whether their employer offered a retirement plan and whether they participated in the plan, and to categorize the responses by demographic characteristics. Unfortunately, we cannot ascertain whether the plan is a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan.

• 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.

• Traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): A Primer (Congressional Research Service, March 2008). This report describes the primary features of two common retirement savings accounts that are available to individuals. Both traditional and Roth IRAs offer tax incentives to encourage individuals to save for retirement. Although the accounts have many features in common, they differ in some very important aspects. This report explains the eligibility requirements, contribution limits, tax deductibility of contributions, and rules for withdrawing funds from the accounts. This report will be updated as legislative activity warrants.

• Employer-Sponsored Pensions: A Primer (The Urban Institute, January 2008). The shifting pension landscape raises questions about the financial security of future retirees. About one-half of private-sector workers are not covered by employer-sponsored pension plans on their current job. Many private-sector employers have replaced traditional pensions with 401(k)-type plans, which protect benefits for workers who change jobs frequently but expose participants to investment risks. This primer describes pensions, workers with coverage, and related policy issues.

• Pension Wealth and Income: 1992, 1998, and 2004 (Center for Retirement Research, January 2008). Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, this brief documents this shift and compares employer-sponsored pension wealth across households with heads age 51-56 in 1992, 1998, and 2004. The results show that, for the average household, both pension wealth and replacement rates — the ratio of annual benefits to pre-retirement earnings — fell between 1992 and 2004.

• Private Pension Plan Bulletin: Abstract of 2005 Form 5500 Annual Reports (Employee Benefits Security Administration, December 2007). This report, published annually, provides basic statistical data on the types of retirement plans offered, how many people participated in each type of plan, and the amount of assets in each type.

• Pension Sponsorship and Participation: Summary of Recent Trends (Congressional Research Service, September 2007). Every March, the Current Population Survey includes questions about employment, income, health insurance, retirement plan participation, and receipt of government benefits during the previous calendar year. This information allows analysts and researchers to calculate the number and percentage of workers who reported whether their employer offered a retirement plan and whether they participated in the plan, and to categorize the responses by demographic characteristics. Unfortunately, we cannot ascertain whether the plan is a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan.

• Pension Funds Investing in Hedge Funds (Congressional Research Service, June 2007). The proportion of U.S. corporate-defined benefit pension funds investing in hedge funds has increased to 24% in 2006, up from 19% in 2004 and 12% in 2000. Although statistics vary, total corporate pension fund assets allocated to hedge funds in 2006 was 2.1%. Because of hedge funds’ risky nature, rapid growth, lack of oversight, and recent losses, some wonder if they are appropriate investments for workers’ retirement funds.

• Private Pension Plan Bulletin: Abstract of 2004 Form 5500 Annual Reports (Employee Benefits Security Administration, March 2007). This report, published annually, provides basic statistical data on the types of retirement plans offered, how many people participated in each type of plan, and the amount of assets in each type. The report also includes historical tables from 1975 to 2004.

• The Financial Health of the Pension Guaranty Benefit Corporation (PBGC) (Congressional Research Service, March 2007). This report focuses on the financial condition of the PBGC and the effects of the Pension Protection Act; it will be updated upon major developments affecting the PBGC’s financial condition.

• Employee Benefits Security Administration: Enforcement Improvements Made but Additional Actions Could Further Enhance Pension Plan Oversight (Government Accountability Office, January 2007). In March 2002, the GAO identified weaknesses in EBSA’s enforcement program, despite the agency’s actions to strengthen it. Since that time, EBSA has, among other things, promoted coordination among regional investigators and increased participation in its voluntary correction programs, as GAO recommended. EBSA also has recruited investigators with advanced skills in accounting, finance, banking, and law that officials believe are necessary due to ERISA’s technicalities. Yet some weaknesses identified in 2002 remain. EBSA's response is included in this report as Appendix III.

• Private Pension Plan Bulletin: Abstract of 2003 Form 5500 Annual Reports (Employee Benefits Security Administration, October 2006). This report, published annually, provides basic statistical data on the types of retirement plans offered, how many people participated in each type of plan, and the amount of assets in each type.

• EPI Issue Guide: Retirement Security (Economic Policy Institute, September 2006). EPI Issue Guides are online resources that provide data, charts, fact sheets, and links to relevant publications on a variety of topics.

• Pension Sponsorship and Participation: Summary of Recent Trends (Congressional Research Service, August 2006). An updated analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, looking at the number of workers and percentage of the workforce that have access to and participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

• National Compensation Survey:  Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United States, March 2006 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2006).  Includes statistical data on the percentage of workers that are covered by employer-provided retirement plans, health insurance, life insurance, disability, paid vacation, and other benefits.

• Estimating Pension Coverage Using Different Data Sets (Boston College Center for Retirement Research, August 2006). This report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of five major data sets that are commonly used to estimate the level of pension coverage in the U.S.

• Private Pension Plan Bulletin: Abstract of 2002 Form 5500 Annual Reports (Employee Benefits Security Administration, July 2006). This report, published annually, provides basic statistical data on the types of retirement plans offered, how many people participated in each type of plan, and the amount of assets in each type.

• Private Pension Plan Bulletin:  Abstract of 2001 Form 5500 Annual Reports (Employee Benefits Security Administration, February 2006).  This report, published annually, provides basic statistical data on the types of retirement plans offered, how many people participated in each type of plan, and the amount of assets in each type.