IRA balances and contributions: an overview of the EBRI IRA database

NEW IRA DATABASE: The Employee Benefit Research Institute created the EBRI IRA Database in order to more closely examine retirement savings behavior. The EBRI IRA Database is able to link individuals within and across the data providers and will also be able to link the data with participants in 401(k) plans, allowing retirement funds to be tracked as they are generated, rolled over, and ultimately used. This Issue Brief is the first of a series of publications analyzing the EBRI IRA Database, and highlights the distribution of IRA owners by IRA type, average and median account balances, and contributions to IRAs. The data security techniques used by the data providers assure that EBRI has no ability to identify individuals so that all privacy is assured. IRA TYPES: In the EBRI IRA Database, IRAs are classified into four types: traditional (originating from contributions), rollovers from other retirement plans, Roth, and SEP/SIMPLE. The distribution of the IRA accounts is 33.6 percent traditional IRAs; 33.4 percent rollover IRAs (combined with the traditional IRAs, 67 percent); 23.4 percent Roth IRAs; the remaining 9.6 percent are SEPs and SIMPLEs. OWNERSHIP BY AGE AND GENDER: IRA owners were more likely to be male, especially those having a rollover or a SEP/SIMPLE IRA. Among all IRA participants in the database, nearly one-half (48.3 percent) were ages 45-64. Only 16.7 percent of those owning a traditional IRA were under age 45, compared with 46.5 percent for those with a Roth, 30.4 percent for rollovers, and 34.8 percent for those with a SEP or SIMPLE. AVERAGE AND MEDIAN BALANCES: The average and median IRA account balance in 2008 was $54,863 and $15,756, respectively, while the average and median IRA individual balance (all accounts from the same person combined) was $69,498 and $20,046, Individuals with a rollover balance had the highest average and median balance at $91,783 and $31,264. Roth owners had the lowest average and median balance at $14,056 and $7,319. The average and median individual IRA balance increased with age before leveling off for those age 70 or older. Averages--The average amount contributed to an IRA in the database was $3,665 in 2008. The average contribution was highest for accounts owned by those ages 65-69. More contributions were made to Roth accounts than to traditional (combined traditional and rollover) accounts. However, the average contribution to a traditional account was higher, at $3,798, compared with $3,580 to a Roth account. Yet, a higher overall amount was contributed to Roth IRAs ($3.4 billion for Roths compared with $2.3 billion for traditional accounts). By type--Focusing only on those owning traditional, rollover, or Roth IRAs, 12.1 percent of the accounts were contributed to, and 15.1 percent of the individuals owning these IRA types contributed to them in 2008. When combining the owners of traditional and rollover IRAs (which are considered the same type for contribution purposes), 7.2 percent contributed, while 29.5 percent of those owning a Roth IRA contributed to a Roth IRA. Maxing out--Of those individuals contributing, 42.4 percent contributed the maximum amount. Of those contributing to a traditional or rollover IRA, 43.4 percent maxed out, while 40.2 percent did so with a Roth IRA.     

Personal account retirement plans: an analysis of the survey of consumers finances

This report is based on data from the Federal Reserve Board's triennial Survey of Consumer Financies (SCF), which provides the most comprehensive data available on the wealth of American households. The most recent SCF data are for 1998, and this report tracks information from the 1992, 1995, and 1998 surveys. The percentage of families with a participant in a pension plan from a current job increased from 38.8 percent to 41.0 percent over this six-year period. If one focuses exclusively on those families with a worker and in which the head is under age 65, the percentage for 1998 increases to 56.8 percent. The previously documented trend toward defined contribution plans was confirmed and the significance of 401(k)-type plans for those families participating in a pension plan more than doubled, from 31.6 percent in 1992 to 64.3 percent in 1998. The percentage of family heads eligible to participate in a defined contribution plan that did so increased from 73.8 percent in 1995 to 77.3 percent in 1998. Of those families choosing not to participate in a defined contribution plan, 40.3 percent were already participating in a defined benefit plan. Overall, "personal account plans" represented nearly one-half (49.5 percent) of all the financial assets for those families with either a defined contribution plan account, IRA, or Keogh, in 1998. This was a significant increase from 43.6 percent in 1992. The average total account balance in personal account plans for families with a plan in 1998 was $78,417, an increase of 54 percent in real terms over the 1992 balance of $50,914 (expressed in 1998 dollars). For families participating in a defined contribution plan, IRA, or Keogh in 1998, 52 percent of the overall average was attributed to IRA/Keogh balances (43 percent from IRAs alone), and 44 percent of the average was from account balances in defined contribution plans with the current employer. There is a marked tendency for lower-income families to have larger percentages of their total personal account plan retirement portfolio in IRAs, although this trend appears to be fading with time. The impact of rollovers on the average total account balance for all individual account balances appears to be quite large: $152,451 for those with at least one rollover, versus $78,471 for all families participating in at least one personal account plan, regardless of whether they have had a rollover. The vast majority of the rollovers would appear to be going to IRAs, as opposed to a defined contribution plan with a new employer.     

Health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements: assets, account balances, and rollovers, 2006-2010

ASSET LEVELS GROWING: In 2010, there was $7.7 billion in health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), spread across 5.7 million accounts. This is up from 2006, when there were 1.2 million accounts with $835.4 million in assets, and 2009, when 5 million accounts held $7.1 billion in assets. AFTER LEVELING OFF, AVERAGE ACCOUNT BALANCE DROPS SLIGHTLY: Increases in average account balances leveled off in 2008 and 2009, and fell slightly in 2010. In 2006, account balances averaged $696. They increased to $1,320 in 2007, a 90 percent increase. Account balances averaged $1,356 in 2008 and $1,419 in 2009, 3 percent and 5 percent increases, respectively. In 2010, average account balances fell to $1,355, down 4.5 percent from the previous year. AVERAGE ROLLOVER DECLINES, WHILE TOTAL ROLLOVERS INCREASE: Despite a decline in the average rollover amount in 2010, total assets being rolled over have been increasing. $4.2 billion was rolled over in 2010, up from $4 billion in 2009. The average rollover increased from $592 in 2006 to $1,295 in 2009, and fell to $1,029 in 2010. The percentage of individuals without a rollover decreased from 23 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2009 and increased slightly to 13 percent in 2010. HEALTHY BEHAVIOR MEANS HIGHER ACCOUNT BALANCES AND HIGHER ROLLOVERS: Individuals who exercised, those who did not smoke, and those who were not obese had higher account balances and higher rollovers than those with less healthy behaviors. It was also found that individuals who used cost or quality information had higher account balances and higher rollovers compared with those who did not use such information. However, no relationship was found between either account balance or rollover amounts and various cost-conscious behaviors such as checking pricing before getting services or asking for generic drugs instead of brand names, among other things. DIFFERENCES IN ACCOUNT BALANCES: Men have higher account balances than women, older individuals have higher account balances than younger ones, account balances increase with household income, and education has a significant impact on account balances independent of income and other variables. DIFFERENCES IN ROLLOVER AMOUNTS: Men rolled over more money than women, and older individuals had higher rollover amounts than younger individuals. Rollover amounts increase with household income and education, and individuals with single coverage rolled over a higher amount than those with family coverage.     

Health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements: assets, account balances, and rollovers, 2006-2011

ASSET LEVELS GROWING: In 2011, there was $12.4 billion in health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), spread across 8.4 million accounts, according to data from the 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, sponsored by EBRI and Matthew Greenwald & Associates. This is up from 2006, when there were 1.3 million accounts with $873.4 million in assets, and 2010, when 5.4 million accounts held $7.3 billion in assets. AFTER LEVELING OFF, AVERAGE ACCOUNT BALANCES INCREASED: After average account balances leveled off in 2008 and 2009, and fell slightly in 2010, they increased in 2011. In 2006, account balances averaged $696. They increased to $1,320 in 2007, a 90 percent increase. Account balances averaged $1,356 in 2008 and $1,419 in 2009, 3 percent and 5 percent increases, respectively. In 2010, average account balances fell to $1,355, down 4.5 percent from the previous year. In 2011, average account balances increased to $1,470, a 9 percent increase from 2010. TOTAL AND AVERAGE ROLLOVERS INCREASE: After declining to $1,029 in 2010, average rollover amounts increased to $1,208 in 2011. Total assets being rolled over increased as well: $6.7 billion was rolled over in 2011, up from $3.7 billion in 2010. The percentage of individuals without a rollover remained at 13 percent in 2011. HEALTHY BEHAVIOR DOES NOT MEAN HIGHER ACCOUNT BALANCES AND HIGHER ROLLOVERS: Individuals who smoke have more money in their accounts than those who do not smoke. In contrast, obese individuals have less money in their account than the nonobese. There is very little difference in account balances by level of exercise. Very small differences were found in account balances and rollover amounts between individuals who used cost or quality information, compared with those who did not use such information. However, next to no relationship was found between either account balance or rollover amounts and various cost-conscious behaviors. When a difference was found, those exhibiting the cost-conscious behavior were found to have lower account balances and rollover amounts. DIFFERENCES IN ACCOUNT BALANCES: Men have higher account balances than women, older individuals have higher account balances than younger ones, account balances increase with household income, and education has a significant impact on account balances independent of income and other variables. DIFFERENCES IN ROLLOVER AMOUNTS: Men rolled over more money than women, and older individuals had higher rollover amounts than younger individuals. Rollover amounts increase with household income and education, and individuals with single coverage rolled over a slightly higher amount than those with family coverage.     

Contribution behavior of 401(k) plan participants

This Issue Brief examines the 1999 contribution behavior of 1.7 million 401(k) plan participants drawn from the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project. The findings in this paper build on previous academic research examining the contribution activity of 401(k) participants, by using a large sample of participants in a wide range of plan sizes and by examining in detail the factors that influence contribution activity. Eighty-five percent of participants in the sample only made before-tax contributions to their plans, and 97 percent of all dollars contributed by employees were contributed on a before-tax basis. On average, participants contributed 6.8 percent of their salaries on a before-tax basis. Before-tax contribution activity varied among participants. About 61 percent of participants contributed more than 5 percent of their salaries on a before-tax basis and about 21 percent set aside more than 10 percent of their salaries on a before-tax basis. Eleven percent of participants analyzed in this study earning more than $40,000 a year contributed at the $10,000 before-tax IRC limit in 1999. Thirteen percent of participants with salaries between $70,000 and $80,000 contributed at the cap, and 18 percent of those with salaries between $80,000 and $90,000 were at the limit. However, it appears that among participants not contributing at the IRC limit, 52 percent could not have done so because of formal plan-imposed contribution limits below the IRC limit. Older participants tended to contribute a higher percentage of their salaries to plans than did younger participants, even after factoring out differences in salary and job tenure. Participants tended to increase the share of their salary (and amounts) contributed to their 401(k) plan as their salaries rose until salaries reached $80,000. For individuals with salaries above $80,000, before-tax contribution rates (though not the amounts contributed) tended to fall as salaries rose because IRC, and possibly plan sponsor, contribution limits became binding for some participants. Giving employees the option of borrowing from their 401(k) accounts increased participant contribution rates. On average, a participant in a plan offering loans appeared to contribute 0.6 percentage point more of his or her salary to the plan than a participant in a plan with no loan provision. Total contributions--the sum of employee and employer contributions--were higher for participants who received an employer contribution as part of their 401(k) plan than for those who did not. The average total contribution rate was 10 percent of salary for employees in plans offering an employer contribution, compared with 7.4 percent for those in plans not offering an employer contribution.     

401(k) plan asset allocation, account balances, and loan activity in 1998

The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) have been collaborating for the past three years to collect data on participants in 401(k) plans. This effort, known as the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project, has obtained data for 401(k) plan participants from certain of EBRI and ICI members serving as plan record keepers and administrators. The report includes 1998 information on 7.9 million active participants in 30,102 plans holding nearly $372 billion in assets. The data include demographic information, annual contributions, plan balances, asset allocation, and loans, and are broadly representative of the universe of 401(k) plans. The database also includes three years of longitudinal information on approximately 3.3 million participants. Key findings include: For all 401(k) participants in the 1998 EBRI/ICI database, almost three-quarters of plan balances are invested directly or indirectly in equity securities. Specifically, 49.8 percent of total plan balances are invested in equity funds, 17.7 percent in company stock, 11.4 percent in guaranteed investment contracts (GICs), 8.4 percent in balanced funds, 6.1 percent in bond funds, 4.7 percent in money funds, and 0.3 percent in other stable value funds. Participant asset allocation varies considerably with age. Younger participants tend to favor equity funds, while older participants are more disposed to invest in GICs and bond funds. On average, participants in their 20s have 62.1 percent of their account balances invested in equity funds, in contrast to 39.8 percent for those in their 60s. Participants in their 20s invest 4.7 percent of their assets in GICs, while those in their 60s invest 20.6 percent. Bond funds, which represent 4.7 percent of the assets of participants in their 20s, amount to 9.0 percent of the assets of participants in their 60s. Investment options offered by 401(k) plans appear to influence asset allocation. For example, the addition of company stock substantially reduces the allocation to equity funds and the addition of GICs lowers allocations to bond and money funds. The average account balance (net of plan loans) for all participants was $47,004 at year-end 1998, which is 26 percent higher than the average account balance at year-end 1996. The median account balance was $13,038 at year-end 1998. The balances, however, represent only amounts with current employers and do not include amounts remaining in the plans of prior employers. The average balances of older workers with long tenure indicate that a mature 401(k) plan program will produce substantial account balances. For example, individuals in their 60s with at least 30 years of tenure have average account balances in excess of $185,000. The ratio of account balance to 1998 salary varies with salary, increasing slightly as earnings rise from $20,001 to $80,000, and falling a bit for salaries greater than $80,000. The increase in ratio likely reflects a greater propensity of higher-income participants to save, whereas the decline after $80,000 results from contribution and nondiscrimination rule constraints.     

Retirement plans, personal saving, and saving adequacy

This Issue Brief addresses three questions raised by recent trends in personal saving: How are national savings measured and what is the meaning of the trends in measured personal saving rates, given what is included and what is not included in those measures? What is the effect of retirement saving programs--in particular, 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs)--on personal saving levels? What are the implications of existing saving behavior for the retirement income security of today's workers? The National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), the most commonly referenced gauge of personal saving, is a widely misunderstood measure. One could argue that a complete measure of saving would include increases in wealth through capital gains, but NIPA does not factor accrued and realized capital gains on stocks and other assets into the saving rate. By one measure, accounting for capital gains results in an aggregate personal saving rate of 33 percent--more than double the rate of four decades ago. A major policy question is the impact of tax-qualified retirement saving plans (i.e., IRAs and 401(k) plans) on personal saving rates. Empirical analysis of this issue is extremely challenging and findings have been contradictory. These programs now represent an enormous store of retirement-earmarked wealth in tax-deferred vehicles: Combined, such tax-deferred retirement accounts currently have assets of about $4 trillion. Ninety percent of IRA contributions are now the result of "rollovers" as employees leave employer plans, like 401(k) plans. While leakage from the system remains a challenge, the majority of the assets in the system can be expected to be available to fund workers' retirements. One could argue that, from a retirement income security perspective, workers in general are better off because IRA and 401(k) programs exist. Surely, many of the dollars in these programs would have been saved even without the programs; but they would not necessarily have been earmarked for retirement and been available to fund retirement expenses. As rollovers become larger, this "partnership" of employment-based qualified plans and IRAs will grow even more important. The evidence indicates that many groups of American workers appear unlikely to be able to afford a retirement that maintains their current lifestyle (at least not without working more years than currently planned). Consensus does not exist on how many workers are at risk or the typical magnitude of their retirement saving shortfall. There is a consensus, however, that a substantial number of individuals are at risk. This is not surprising--despite the fact that the 70 percent of workers are saving for retirement--since relatively few workers know how much it is that they need to accumulate to fund their retirement.     

401(k) plan asset allocation, account balances, and loan activity in 2009

CONSISTENT SAMPLE: Because 401(k) balances can fluctuate with market returns from year to year, meaningful analysis of 401(k) plans must examine how participants' accounts have performed over the long term. Looking at consistent participants in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database over the six-year period from 2003 to 2009 (which included one of the worst bear markets for stocks since the Great Depression), the study found: After rising in 2003 and for the next four consecutive years, the average 401(k) retirement account fell 27.8 percent in 2008, before rising 31.9 percent in 2009. The average 401(k) account balance moved up and down with stock market performance, but over the entire six-year time period increased at an average annual growth rate of 10.5 percent, attaining $109,723 at year-end 2009. The median (or midpoint, half above and half below) 401(k) account balance increased at an average annual growth rate of 14.7 percent over the 2003-2009 period to $59,381 at year-end 2009. THE BULK OF 401(K) ASSETS CONTINUED TO BE INVESTED IN STOCKS: On average, at year-end 2009, 60 percent of 401(k) participants' assets were invested in equity securities through equity funds, the equity portion of balanced funds, and company stock. Thirty-six percent was in fixed-income securities such as stable-value investments and bond and money funds. MORE THAN THREE-QUARTERS OF 401(K) PLANS INCLUDED TARGET-DATE FUNDS IN THEIR INVESTMENT LINEUP AT YEAR-END 2009: At year-end 2009, nearly 10 percent of the assets in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database was invested in target-date funds and 33 percent of 401(k) participants held target-date funds. Also known as lifecycle funds, they are designed to simplify investing and to automate account rebalancing. NEW EMPLOYEES CONTINUED TO USE BALANCED FUNDS, INCLUDING TARGET-DATE FUNDS: Across all but the oldest age group, more new or recent hires invested their 401(k) assets in balanced funds, including target-date funds. At year-end 2009, about 42 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s were invested in balanced funds, compared with 36 percent in 2008, and about 7 percent in 1998. At year-end 2009, 31 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s was invested in lifecycle funds, compared with almost 23 percent at year-end 2008. 401(K) PARTICIPANTS CONTINUED TO SEEK DIVERSIFICATION OF THEIR INVESTMENTS: The share of 401(k) accounts invested in company stock continued to shrink, falling by half of a percentage point (to 9.2 percent) in 2009. That continued a steady decline that started in 1999. Recently hired 401(k) participants contributed to this trend: They tended to be less likely to hold employer stock. PARTICIPANTS' 401(K) LOAN ACTIVITY ROSE IN 2009: In 2009, 21 percent of all 401(k) participants eligible for loans had a loan outstanding against their 401(k) account, compared with 18 percent at year-end 2008 and year-end 2007. Loans outstanding amounted to 15 percent of the remaining account balance, on average, at year-end 2009, compared with 16 percent at year-end 2008. Loan amounts remained in line with the past few years in terms of typical dollar amounts.     

401(k) plan asset allocation, account balances, and loan activity in 2010

THE BULK OF 401(K) ASSETS CONTINUED TO BE INVESTED IN STOCKS: On average, at year-end 2010, 62 percent of 401(k) participants' assets were invested in equity securities through equity funds, the equity portion of balanced funds, and company stock. Thirty-three percent were in fixed-income securities such as stable value investments and bond and money funds. SEVENTY PERCENT OF 401(K) PLANS INCLUDED TARGET-DATE FUNDS IN THEIR INVESTMENT LINEUP AT YEAR-END 2010: At year-end 2010, 11 percent of the assets in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database were invested in target-date funds and 36 percent of 401(k) participants held target-date funds. Also known as lifecycle funds, they are designed to offer a diversified portfolio that automatically rebalances to be more focused on income over time. MORE NEW OR RECENT HIRES INVESTED THEIR 401(K) ASSETS IN BALANCED FUNDS, INCLUDING TARGET-DATE FUNDS: For example, at year-end 2010, 44 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s were invested in balanced funds, compared with 42 percent in 2009, and about 7 percent in 1998. A significant subset of that balanced fund category is target-date funds. At year-end 2010, 35 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s were invested in target-date funds, compared with 31 percent at year-end 2009. 401(K) PARTICIPANTS CONTINUED TO SEEK DIVERSIFICATION OF THEIR INVESTMENTS: The share of 401(k) accounts invested in company stock continued to shrink, falling by more than a percentage point (to 8 percent) in 2010, continuing a steady decline that started in 1999. Recently hired 401(k) participants contributed to this trend: They tended to be less likely to hold employer stock. PARTICIPANTS' 401(K) LOAN BALANCES DECLINED SLIGHTLY IN 2010: In 2010, 21 percent of all 401(k) participants who were eligible for loans had loans outstanding against their 401(k) accounts, unchanged from year-end 2009, and up from 18 percent at year-end 2008. Loans outstanding amounted to 14 percent of the remaining account balance, on average, at year-end 2010, compared with 15 percent at year-end 2009. Loan amounts outstanding declined slightly from those in the past few years. THE YEAR-END 2010 AVERAGE ACCOUNT BALANCE IN THE DATABASE WAS 3.4 PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE YEAR BEFORE, BUT MAY NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE EXPERIENCE OF TYPICAL 401(K) PARTICIPANTS IN 2010: To understand changes in 401(k) participants' average account balances, it is important to analyze a sample of consistent participants. As with previous EBRI/ICI updates, analysis of a sample of consistent 401(k) participants (those that have been in the same plan since 2003) is expected to be published in 2012.     

Flexible benefits, choice, and work force diversity

This Issue Brief evaluates the prevalence of flexible benefits plans and their ability to achieve cost management goals and to meet the needs of diverse employee groups. In addition, it examines flexible benefits plans' current legislative and regulatory status and typical plan design features. Sec. 125 of the Internal Revenue Code allows employers to provide employees with a choice among benefits, including moving otherwise taxable cash compensation to the pre-tax purchase of benefits, without requiring them to include the value of the noncash benefits in their adjusted gross income unless they choose taxable options. Although the percentage of full-time employees in medium and large private establishments who are eligible for cafeteria plans has not increased appreciably, the percentage of employees eligible for freestanding flexible spending accounts (FSAs) nearly tripled between 1988 and 1991. Generally, the proportion of employers sponsoring cafeteria plans or FSAs increases with employer size. Recent surveys show that 27 percent of employers with 1,000 or more employees offered choice-making plans in 1991, 48 percent of firms offered health care FSAs, and 54 percent offered dependent care FSAs, either in conjunction with cafeteria plans or as a stand-alone option. Ten percent of full-time employees in private firms employing 100 or more workers were eligible to participate in cafeteria plans in 1991. Only 5 percent of full-time employees in state and local governments and 1 percent of similar employees in small private establishments were eligible for cafeteria plans in 1990. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics' surveys show that, among full-time employees, 27 percent in private establishments with 100 or more employees, 28 percent in state and local governments, and 6 percent in small private establishments were eligible to participate in freestanding FSAs. In 1992, 21 percent of eligible employees contributed to a health care FSA, and only 3 percent of eligible employees contributed to a dependent care FSA. Contributions to health care FSAs averaged $651, and those to dependent care FSAs averaged $2,959. National health reform could have a significant impact on these plans if the tax treatment of health benefits is changed. Taxation of health benefits in excess of a standard benefits package would fundamentally reduce the ability to use FSAs.     

Retirement plan participation and features and standard of living of Americans 55 or older

This Issue Brief is the third in a series of Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) publications based on data collected in 1998 and released in 2002 as the Retirement and Pension Plan Coverage Topical Module of the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This report completes the series by examining the survey's more detailed questions concerning workers' employment-based retirement plans. Specifically, it examines the percentage of workers who are participating in a plan, and also workers' reasons for not participating in a plan when working in a job where a plan is sponsored; the features of, or decisions made concerning salary reduction plans; historical participation in employment-based retirement plans; and a comparison of the standard of living of individuals age 55 or older with their living standard in their early 50s. As of June 1998, 64.3 percent of wage and salary workers age 16 or older worked for an employer or union that sponsored any type of retirement plan (defined contribution or defined benefit) for any of its employees or members (the "sponsorship rate"). Almost 47 percent of these wage and salary workers participated in a plan (the "participation rate"), with 43.2 percent being entitled to a benefit or eligible to receive a lump-sum distribution from a plan if their job terminated at the time of survey (the "vested rate"). The predominant reason for choosing not to participate in a retirement plan was that doing so was unaffordable. The eligible participation rate for salary reduction plans was 81.4 percent. Fifty-six percent of all workers have participated in some type of retirement plan sometime during their work life through 1998. For those ages 51-60, almost 72 percent have ever participated in a plan. The median account balance in salary reduction plans in 1998 was $14,000. In 1998, 12.9 percent of salary reduction plan participants eligible to take a loan had done so, and the average outstanding loan balance was $5,196. Nearly 80 percent of those age 55 or older reported that their standard of living is about the same or better now than it was when they were in their early 50s. The incidence of both pension income and health insurance from a former employer had a significant impact on retirees' ability to maintain their standard of living. In addition, those who spent their entire most recent lump-sum distribution were more likely to have a much worse standard of living in retirement than those who rolled over their entire most recent distribution.     

Questions and answers on health insurance benefit issues

This Issue Brief addresses eight topics in the areas of health insurance and health care costs. Using a question and answer format, the discussion draws largely on EBRI research and the EBRI Databook on Employee Benefits, third edition. In 1993, U.S. expenditures on health care were $884.2 billion, and they are projected to reach $2,173.7 billion by 2005, increasing at a projected average annual rate of 7.8 percent. Health care spending accounted for 13.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1993 and is projected to reach 17.9 percent of GDP by 2005. Among the factors contributing to the increase in health care costs are the growth in the number of individuals with traditional reimbursement health insurance coverage, the rapid expansion of technology and treatment options, and demographic factors such as the aging of the population. In 1993, employers, both public and private, spent $235.6 billion on group health insurance, accounting for 6.2 percent of total compensation. Group health insurance is the fastest growing component of total compensation, increasing at an average annual rate of 13.7 percent from 1960 to 1993. An increasing number of employees are required to make a cash contribution to their health insurance plan premium. In 1993, 61 percent of full-time employees in medium and large private establishments who participated in an employee only health insurance plan were required to make a contribution to the premium, up from 27 percent in 1979. In 1993, 185.3 million persons under age 65 had health insurance coverage, while 40.9 million people--or about 18.1 percent of the nonelderly population--received neither private health insurance nor publicly financed health coverage. Of those individuals who had health insurance coverage, 60.8 percent, or 137.4 million persons, received their health insurance through an employment-based plan. In 1993, 15.2 percent of the nonelderly population without health insurance coverage were noncitizens. In six states noncitizens represented a higher proportion of the total uninsured population than individuals in the nation as a whole. An increasing number of employers are self-funding their health insurance plans. In 1994, 74 percent of employers with 500 or more employees self-funded their health insurance plans, up from 63 percent in 1993. An estimated 22 million full-time employees in private industry and state and local governments participated in a self-funded employment-based health insurance plan.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Heterogeneous Effects of Child Development Accounts on Savings for Children’s Education

We examine effects of Child Development Accounts on savings for postsecondary education in a statewide experiment (N = 2,677), which automatically opened state-owned college savings accounts for treatment-group children, and encouraged their caregivers to open and save in participant-owned college savings accounts. The experiment achieves universal participation for children in the treatment group; almost all treatment-group children hold an account with more than $1,000 in college assets. Treatment participants we expect would hold their own participant-owned accounts without the intervention have $395 more in savings than their counterparts in the control group; those who are motivated by the intervention to hold a participant-owned account have mean deposits of $888. Those who are motivated by the intervention to save have mean deposits of $1,826. The intervention reduces the socioeconomic disparity in asset accumulation for children. The program has the potential to promote asset building for children’s education.     

Strange Tempest: Agency, Poststructuralism, and the Shape of Feminist Politics to Come

This essay explores Judith Butler's influence on feminist and gender studies at two levels. First, the essay examines Butler's specific theoretical contributions with special attention to the performativity of gender and the conception of agency connected with it. It highlights the contributions and limitations of Butler's account of agency and the ongoing feminist conversation that it has incited. Second, this essay explores how Butler's account of agency has unsettled feminist conceptions of established political practice and sketches how specific responses to Butler's work provide clues to key contested issues. The essay closes with a brief look at feminist scholarship that draws together Butler-informed political visions with traditional accounts of feminist political practice in a manner that foreshadows a dynamic feminist politics yet to come.     

Small-dollar accounts,children's college outcomes,and wilt

This is paper four of four in the Small-Dollar Children's Savings Account series, which studies the relationship between children's small-dollar savings accounts and college enrollment and graduation. This series of papers examines three important research questions using different subsamples: (a) Are children with savings of their own more likely to attend or graduate from college? (b) Does dosage (i.e., having no account, only basic savings, savings designated for school [of less than $1, $1 to $499, or $500 or more]) matte? And (c) is having savings designated for school more predictive than having basic savings alone? In this study we use a sample of children who expect to graduate college prior to leaving high school as a way of looking at wilt. In this study “wilt” occurs when a child who expects to graduate from college while in high school does not graduate college by 2009. Using propensity score weighted data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its supplements we created multi-treatment dosages of savings accounts and amounts to answer the previous questions. We find that in the aggregate children who expect to graduate college prior to leaving high school (high-expectation children) and who designate savings for school of $500 or more are about two times more likely to graduate college than high-expectation children with no account. High-expectation low- and moderate-income (LMI) children who designate school savings of $1 to $499 and $500 or more are about three times more likely to graduate college than LMI children with no account. Further, high-expectation black children who have school savings of $500 or more are about two and half times more likely to graduate from college than their counterparts with no savings account.     

Accumulating assets,debts in young adulthood: Children as potential future investors

Child Development Accounts (CDA) aim to open savings accounts in childhood as a way to lay a foundation for building assets in young adulthood and beyond. Mainstream banks may be key partners in opening the accounts in which children can build assets. While children may have limited savings to invest initially, they may increasingly invest over time by accumulating assets and debts through mainstream banks. Mainstream banks may benefit from children's increasing investments. This paper uses propensity score weighted, longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its supplements to examine savings, assets, debt, and net worth accumulation of young adults and whether or not they accumulate more when they have savings accounts as children. Young adults accumulate a median of $1000 in savings accounts, $4600 in total assets, $965 in debt (excluding student loans), and $4000 in net worth (excluding student loans). Young adults accumulate more savings and total assets when they have savings accounts as children. They accumulate less debt and more net worth when their households accumulate high net worth.     

Small-dollar children's saving accounts and children's college outcomes by race

This is paper three of four in the Small-Dollar Children Accounts series that studies the relationship between children's small dollar savings accounts and college enrollment and graduation. The series uses different subsamples to examine three important research questions: (a) Are children with savings of their own more likely to attend or graduate from college? (b) Does dosage (no account, only basic savings, savings designated for school of less than $1, $1 to $499, or $500 or more) matter? And (c) is designating for school more predictive of college enrollment or graduation than having basic undesignated savings alone? Using propensity score weighted data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its supplements we created multi-treatment dosages of savings accounts and amounts to answer these questions separately for black (n = 404) and white (n = 453) children. White children's savings are not significantly related to their college outcomes. Differently, compared to black children without savings accounts, black children are three times more likely to enroll in college when they have school savings of less than $1 and six times more likely when they have school savings of $1 to $499. Further, black children with school savings of $1 to $499 are four times more likely to graduate from college and black children with school savings of $500 or more are three-and-a-half times more likely to graduate from college, compared to those with no savings account. We suggest Child Development Accounts (CDAs) may be a promising tool for helping black children get to and through college.     

Math Achievement and Children’s Savings: Implications for Child Development Accounts

In this study, we propose that children who have a savings account may be more likely to have higher math scores than children without a savings account. We find that children’s savings accounts are positively associated with math scores. Children with savings accounts on average score almost nine percent higher in math than children without a savings account. Further, results suggest that children’s savings accounts fully mediate the relationship between household wealth and children’s math scores. However, household wealth moderates the mediating relationship. We find math scores of low-wealth children increase by 2.13, middle-wealth children’s increase by 4.36, while high-wealth children’s increase by 6.59 points. Policy implications are discussed.