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Annual figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics help paint a picture of the number of Americans who participate in a retirement plan at work. Typically in any year only half of workers participate in a retirement plan at work. In 2018 participation by all civilian workers, full and part-time, was 56 percent. The information below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Compensation Survey for 2019.
All workers: private-sector, state and local government workers. (139 million full and part-time workers):
| Percentage of workers participating in a workplace retirement plan: | 56 |
| Percentage of workers participating in a pension plan: | 21 |
| Percentage of workers participating in a retirement savings plan: | 43 |
| Percentage of all workers participating in a retirement plan who are in a pension plan: | 37* |
*(29.1 million workers. Pension Rights Center calculations based on NCS data.)
Private-sector workers. (120 million full and part-time workers):
| Percentage of private-sector workers participating in a workplace retirement plan: | 52 |
| Percentage of private-sector workers participating in a pension plan: | 12 |
| Percentage of private-sector workers participating in a retirement savings plan: | 47 |
| Percentage of private-sector workers participating in a retirement plan who are in a pension plan: | 23* |
*(14.4 million workers. Pension Rights Center calculations based on NCS data.)
State and local government workers. (19 million full and part-time workers):
| Percentage of workers participating in a workplace retirement plan: | 83 |
| Percentage of workers participating in a pension plan: | 76 |
| Percentage of workers participating in a retirement savings plan: | 17 |
| Percentage of state and local government workers participating in a retirement plan who are in a pension plan: | 92* |
*(14.4 million workers. Pension Rights Center calculations based on NCS data.)
Sources
For data on workers’ access to retirement plans and take up rates, click here.
For data on full and part-time workers click here.
For data on near-retirees, ages 55-64, click here.
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