CRS Report – Retirement Plan Participation and Contributions: Trends from 1998 to 2006,January 30, 2009
“The U.S. Census Bureau periodically collects information from individuals about their participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The most recent such survey was conducted from February through May of 2006. After extensive review and editing by the Census Bureau, the survey data files were released to the public in November 2008. This CRS report presents a summary of the data and a comparison of the results of the 2006 survey with similar surveys that the Census Bureau conducted in 1998 and 2003. Our analysis of the data showed that: * The percentage of private-sector wage-and-salary workers aged 21 and older whose employer sponsored a retirement plan increased from 63% in 1998 to 66% in 2003 and declined to 62% in 2006. * The percentage of private-sector wage-and-salary workers aged 21 and older who participated in employer-sponsored retirement plans increased from 45% in 1998 to 49% in 2003 and declined to 45% in 2006. The percentage of private-sector wage-and-salary workers aged 21 and older whose employer sponsored a defined contribution plan, such as a §401(k) plan, rose from 54% in 1998 to 58% in 2003 and declined to 56% in 2006. * The percentage of private-sector wage-and-salary workers aged 21 and older who participated in defined contribution plans increased from 37% in 1998 to 43% in 2003 and declined to 40% in 2006.”