General Statistics, Surveys, and Reports on Retirement Policy

As life expectancy increases, the risk that retirees will outlive their assets is a growing challenge. The shift from defined benefit (DB) pension plans to defined contribution (DC) plans also increases the responsibility for workers and retirees to make difficult decisions and manage their pension and other financial assets so that they have income throughout retirement.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several pension programs for veterans and their surviving spouses and dependent children.

At any given moment in time, only about half of private sector workers are covered by any sort of employer-sponsored plan. This lack of coverage has two implications.

This report 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 from 1975 through 2007.