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An Update on Private Pensions

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Author Info
Alicia H. Munnell
Pamela Perun () (Urban Institute)
Abstract

Employer-sponsored pensions are an important source of retirement income and often make the difference between having a comfortable retirement and just scraping by. However, at any given time, only about half of workers are covered by pension plans. In addition, the sea change in the nature of pension coverage from traditional defined benefit plans to 401(k)-type defined contribution plans means that the amount of income that individuals will receive from pension plans in the future is uncertain. This brief, which updates our previous work, explores who is covered by a pension plan and who is not, how much retirees receive in pension income, and how pension coverage and receipt have changed over time. The key finding is that total pension coverage has remained stagnant while the nature of coverage has continued to shift to 401(k) plans. These developments, coupled with declining levels of earnings replacement under Social Security, mean that future retirees will have to work longer if they want to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Center for Retirement Research in its series Issues in Brief with number ib2006-50.

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Length: 12 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2006
Date of revision: Aug 2006
Handle: RePEc:crr:issbrf:ib2006-50

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Keywords: pension coverage employer-sponsored pensions private pensions defined benefit plans 401(k) shift transition

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Alicia H. Munnell & James G. Lee & Kevin B. Meme, 2004. "An Update on Pension Data," Issues in Brief ib20, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  2. Alicia H. Munnell, 2003. "The Declining Role Of Social Security," Just the Facts jtf-6, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  3. Alicia H. Munnell & Annika Sunden & Elizabeth Lidstone, 2003. "How Important Are Private Pensions?," Issues in Brief ib-8, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  4. William E. Even & David A. MacPherson, 1994. "Why did male pension coverage decline in the 1980s?," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 47(3), pages 439-453, April.
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. James Poterba & Steven Venti & David A. Wise, 2007. "The Changing Landscape of Pensions in the United States," NBER Working Papers 13381, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Alicia H. Munnell & Mauricio Soto & Jerilyn Libby & John Prinzivalli, 2006. "Investment Returns: Defined Benefit vs. 401(k) Plans," Issues in Brief ib2006-52, Center for Retirement Research, revised Sep 2006. [Downloadable!]
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