Archive
Private Health Insurance Exchanges and Defined Contribution Health Plans: Is It Déjà Vu All Over Again?
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
This Issue Brief examines issues related to private health insurance exchanges, possible structures of an exchange, funding, as well as the pros, cons, and uncertainties to employers of adopting them. A summary of recent surveys on employer attitudes are examined, as are some changes that employers have made to other benefits that might serve as historical precedents for a move to some type of defined contribution health benefits approach.
- The combination of insurance market reforms and the embodiment of the exchange structure in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has brought a renewed focus on limiting employer’s health care cost exposure.
- The key provisions of PPACA influencing these considerations are not the availability of exchanges per se, but a number of insurance market reforms that are combined with the exchanges, such as guaranteed issue, modified community rating, premium and cost sharing subsidies, and increased choice of health plan.
- Following the growth of defined contribution (DC) retirement benefits, DC health benefits were seen as promising tools to help control employer benefit costs by capping the employer’s per-worker insurance contribution and engaging workers in their health care choices.
- Employers never moved in the direction of giving workers a defined or fixed contribution to purchase health insurance for a number of reasons: They were hesitant to drop group coverage in favor of offering individual policies, and they were concerned that many employees would not be able to secure coverage in the individual market.
- Employer issues addressed with an exchange/fixed contribution approach include cost certainty, total compensation transparency, uniformity of benefits in multi-state environments, COBRA costs, the looming excise tax on high cost coverage (the so-called “Cadillac tax”) under PPACA, the potential for reduced administrative costs, and higher employee satisfaction.
- Employer issues that need to be addressed in adopting a private exchange/fixed contribution approach include plan design, implications of adverse selection, setting the level of fixed contribution, the amount of plan choice, and geographic cost variation.
- Issues not addressed by an exchange/fixed contribution approach include worker preference of, and satisfaction with, employment-based coverage, group purchasing efficiencies, the role of employer as advocate in coverage disputes, delivery innovation and health care quality, and health literacy issues.
Own-to-Rent Transitions and Changes in Housing Equity for Older Americans,’ and ‘Health Plan Choice: Findings from the 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey
Own-to-Rent Transitions and Changes in Housing Equity for Older Americans,’ and ‘Health Plan Choice: Findings from the 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Own-to-Rent Transitions and Changes in Housing Equity for Older Americans
- Owning is the most common housing arrangement for older Americans: At age 65, more than 8 in 10 Americans report living in houses they own.
- The transition rate from home ownership to renting is 3 percent at age 50, bottoming out at 1.6 percent at age 65. However, these transition rates increase after age 85, reaching a peak of 4.7 percent at age 90.
- Death of a spouse is the most common factor associated with a transition from owning to renting. The next common factor is a drop in household income.
- Median household income for those between ages 50 and 64 who continue to own their home is $79,758, while those who shift from owning to renting in that same age group have a median household income of $53,520.
- Ownership rates are very different for couples and singles, but don’t change a lot across owners’ ages. The home ownership rate hovers around 90 percent for couples and 60 percent for singles.
Health Plan Choice: Findings from the 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey
- Nearly one-half (47 percent) of covered workers had a choice of health plans in 2011.
- Forty-two percent of large firms offered two or more choices of health plans, compared with 15 percent of smaller firms. Half of consumer-driven health plan enrollees reported that they chose that offering because of the lower premium, while 45 percent reported that the opportunity to save money in the account for future years was a primary reason.
- Among individuals with traditional health coverage, 39 percent cited the good network of providers and 32 percent reported the low out-of-pocket costs as the main reasons for enrolling in the plan.
Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, and Rollovers, 2010: The EBRI IRA Database
Executive Summary
- In 2010, IRA owners were more likely to be male, especially those whose accounts originated from a rollover or were a SEP/SIMPLE. Among all IRA owners in the database, nearly one-half (45.8 percent) were ages 45–64.
- The average and median IRA account balance in 2010 was $67,438 and $17,863, respectively, while the average and median IRA individual balance (all accounts from the same person combined) was $91,864 and $25,296.
- Individuals with a traditional IRA originating from rollovers had the highest average and median balance of $123,426 and $38,138, respectively. Roth owners had the lowest average and median balance at $22,437 and $11,471. The average and median individual IRA balance increased with age through age 70.
- The average amount contributed to an IRA in the database was $3,335 in 2010. The average contribution was highest for accounts owned by those ages 65–69, and more contributions were made to Roth accounts than to traditional accounts (both those originating from contributions and rollovers). However, the average contribution to a traditional account was higher, at $3,517, compared with $3,240 to a Roth account. Yet, a higher overall amount was contributed to Roths ($2.3 billion for Roths compared with $1.3 billion for traditional accounts).
- Focusing on those owning traditional or Roth IRAs, 9.3 percent of the accounts received contributions, and 12.1 percent of the individuals owning these IRA types contributed to them in 2010. Among traditional IRA owners, 5.2 percent contributed, while 24.0 percent of those owning a Roth contributed to it during 2010.
- Of those individuals contributing to an IRA, 43.5 percent contributed the maximum amount. Of those contributing to a traditional IRA, 48.7 percent maxed out their contribution, while 39.3 percent did so with a Roth.
- The average and median account balances increased from $54,863 and $15,756 respectively in 2008 to $67,438 and $17,863 in 2010. This represents an increase of 22.9 percent in the average account balance and 13.4 percent in the median balance. The total individual balances also increased for both the average (32.2 percent) and the median (26.2 percent).
- The average and median rollover amounts were $69,012 and $17,614 respectively, compared with the average contribution of $3,335.
Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, and Rollovers, 2010: The EBRI IRA Database
Executive Summary
- In 2010, IRA owners were more likely to be male, especially those whose accounts originated from a rollover or were a SEP/SIMPLE. Among all IRA owners in the database, nearly one-half (45.8 percent) were ages 45–64.
- The average and median IRA account balance in 2010 was $67,438 and $17,863, respectively, while the average and median IRA individual balance (all accounts from the same person combined) was $91,864 and $25,296.
- Individuals with a traditional IRA originating from rollovers had the highest average and median balance of $123,426 and $38,138, respectively. Roth owners had the lowest average and median balance at $22,437 and $11,471. The average and median individual IRA balance increased with age through age 70.
- The average amount contributed to an IRA in the database was $3,335 in 2010. The average contribution was highest for accounts owned by those ages 65–69, and more contributions were made to Roth accounts than to traditional accounts (both those originating from contributions and rollovers). However, the average contribution to a traditional account was higher, at $3,517, compared with $3,240 to a Roth account. Yet, a higher overall amount was contributed to Roths ($2.3 billion for Roths compared with $1.3 billion for traditional accounts).
- Focusing on those owning traditional or Roth IRAs, 9.3 percent of the accounts received contributions, and 12.1 percent of the individuals owning these IRA types contributed to them in 2010. Among traditional IRA owners, 5.2 percent contributed, while 24.0 percent of those owning a Roth contributed to it during 2010.
- Of those individuals contributing to an IRA, 43.5 percent contributed the maximum amount. Of those contributing to a traditional IRA, 48.7 percent maxed out their contribution, while 39.3 percent did so with a Roth.
- The average and median account balances increased from $54,863 and $15,756 respectively in 2008 to $67,438 and $17,863 in 2010. This represents an increase of 22.9 percent in the average account balance and 13.4 percent in the median balance. The total individual balances also increased for both the average (32.2 percent) and the median (26.2 percent).
- The average and median rollover amounts were $69,012 and $17,614 respectively, compared with the average contribution of $3,335.
Retirement Income Adequacy for Boomers and Gen Xers: Evidence from the 2012 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model and Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2011
Retirement Income Adequacy for Boomers and Gen Xers: Evidence from the 2012 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model and Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2011
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Retirement Income Adequacy for Boomers and Gen Xers: Evidence from the 2012 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model®
- EBRI’s updated 2012 Retirement Security Projection Model® finds that for Early Baby Boomers (individuals born between 1948–1954), Late Baby Boomers (born between 1955–1964) and Generation Xers (born between 1965–1974), roughly 44 percent of the simulated lifepaths were projected to lack adequate retirement income for basic retirement expenses plus uninsured health care costs.
- These “at-risk” levels are some 5–8 percentage points LOWER than what was found in 2003, largely due to the growing adoption of automatic enrollment by 401(k) plan sponsors.
- Eligibility for a workplace defined contribution retirement plan has a significant positive impact on “at risk” levels.
- The aggregate retirement income deficit number, taking into account current Social Security retirement benefits and the assumption that net housing equity is utilized “as needed,” is currently estimated to be $4.3 trillion for all Baby Boomers and Gen Xers.
Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2011
- Between December 2007–August 2009, the percentage of workers with employment-based coverage in their own name fell from 60.4 percent to 55.9 percent, recovering to 56.5 percent by December 2009. However, by April 2011, the percentage of workers with employment-based coverage had slipped back to 55.8 percent.
- Most uninsured workers reported that they did not have coverage because of cost: anywhere from 70 percent to 90 percent over the December 1995–July 2011 period.
- Uninsured workers reporting that they were not offered employment-based health benefits totaled roughly 40 percent from the mid-1990s through 2003, reaching 23 percent in mid-2011.
More Americans Entering Poverty as They Age
More Americans Entering Poverty as They Age (PDF)
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Between 2005–2009, the rate of poverty among American seniors rose as they aged, as did the number of new entrants into poverty, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
The EBRI report found that poverty rates fell in the first half of the last decade for almost all age groups of older Americans (age 50 or older), though they increased since 2005 for every age group.
Poverty rates, as defined by U.S. Census poverty thresholds, were highest for the oldest of the elderly. Almost 15 percent of those older than age 85 were in poverty in 2009, compared with approximately 10.5 percent of those older than 65, EBRI found. Additionally, in 2009, 6 percent of those age 85 older were new entrants in poverty.
Several factors account for the growing rate of poverty among the elderly, according to Sudipto Banerjee, EBRI research associate and author of the report. “As people age, personal savings and pension account balances are depleted, and as people age, their medical expenditures tend to increase,” Banerjee said.
“Also, the rising poverty rates noted correspond to the two economic recessions that occurred during the last decade.”
+ Full Report (PDF)
Employment-Based Health Benefits: Trends in Access and Coverage, 1997-2010
- Since 2002 the percentage of workers with health coverage has been declining, mostly because fewer workers have access to coverage.
- Both the offer rate (the percentage of workers offered a health benefit) and the coverage rate for employment-based health benefits declined between 1997 and 2010. Between 1997 and 2010, the percentage of workers offered health benefits from their employers decreased from 70.1 percent to 67.5 percent, and the percentage of workers covered by those plans decreased from 60.3 percent to 56.5 percent.
- The take-up rate (the percentage of workers taking coverage when offered by their employers) declined from 86 percent in 1997 to 83.6 percent in 2010.
- Between 1997 and 2010, the percentage of workers offered health benefits from their employers decreased from 70.1 percent to 67.5 percent, and the percentage of workers covered by those plans decreased from 60.3 percent to 56.5 percent.
- Two-thirds of workers not eligible for their employers’ health plans reported that they worked part time in 2010, up from one-half in 1997.
- In 2010, 46.7 percent of wage and salary workers ages 18–64 reported that they worked for employers that did not offer health benefits. Another 14.7 percent worked for employers that provided health benefits but were not eligible for those benefits. One-quarter of workers reported that they were offered health benefits but they chose not to participate.
- Between 1997 and 2010, the percentage of workers who declined coverage because of cost increased from 23.2 percent to 29.1 percent. In 2010, two-thirds reported that they declined coverage because they had other coverage, down from 78.9 percent in 1997.
- In 2010, one-half of workers whose employers did not offer health benefits were uninsured, up from 44.1 percent in 1997. In contrast, 29.7 percent of those workers had employment-based health benefits as dependents, 8.1 percent purchased health insurance directly from insurers, and 11.7 percent were covered by public programs.
- Among workers who were not eligible for their employers’ health plans, 38.7 percent were uninsured in 2010, and 41.1 percent had employment-based health benefits as dependents.
- Eligible workers with access to health benefits through their own jobs were less likely to be uninsured and more likely to be covered by employment-based health benefits as dependents. Specifically, 24.8 percent were uninsured in 2010, whereas 62.8 percent had employment-based health benefits as dependents.
Modifying the Federal Tax Treatment of 401(k) Plan Contributions: Projected Impact on Participant Account Balances and Trends in Health Coverage for Part-Time Workers
+ Modifying the Federal Tax Treatment of 401(k) Plan Contributions: Projected Impact on Participant Account Balances
- Analyses of recent proposals to change the tax preferences for employment-based 401(k) retirement programs have often assumed status quo in plan design (by plan sponsors) and contribution flows (by both individual participants and employers) in response to those changes.
- Surveys of both individual participants and plan sponsors suggest, however, that some would change—and in many of those cases, reduce—their contributions. Recent surveys of plan sponsors also suggest that not only would some matching contributions be changed in response, but that some employers would cease offering these retirement plans altogether.
- Smaller employers were more likely to respond negatively to the proposed changes than larger employers.
- EBRI baseline analysis indicates that plan-sponsor modifications, combined with individual participant reactions, would result in an average percentage reduction in 401(k) balances of between 6-22 percent at Social Security normal retirement age for workers currently ages 26-35.
- These responses are strongly tied to plan size; EBRI baseline simulations show that 401(k) plans with less than $10 million in assets would experience average reductions in participant balances at retirement age of between 23-40 percent (depending on plan size and income quartile) for workers currently ages 26-35.
+ Trends in Health Coverage for Part-Time Workers
- One of the concerns about enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010 is that the law’s health coverage mandate for full-time workers (for employers with 50 or more workers) will cause cutbacks in coverage to part-time workers (in order to control costs) or an increase in the use of part-time workers.
- The recent recession has already resulted in an increased use of part-time workers, fewer employers are offering health coverage to part-time workers, and there has been a slight drop in the percentage of part-time workers with coverage from their own employer. While since 1999, there has been no clear trend away from offering coverage to part-time workers either among small or large employers, between 2009 and 2011 the percentage of small employers offering health coverage to part-time workers fell from 30 percent to 15 percent.
Employer and Worker Contributions to Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements, 2006–2011
Employer and Worker Contributions to Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements, 2006–2011
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
This report presents findings from the 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, as well as earlier surveys, examining the availability of health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) and health savings account (HSA)-eligible plans (consumer-driven health plans, or CDHPs). It also looks at employer and individual contribution behavior.
+ Full Document (PDF)
Expenditure Patterns of Older Americans, 2001-2009
Expenditure Patterns of Older Americans, 2001-2009
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Before retirement, people pay FICA taxes, incur work-related expenses, and set aside money for retirement. But after retirement, most people have different financial obligations, and, as a result, retirees may still be able to maintain their level of preretirement well-being with very different income levels. Studying income, expenditures, and wealth-holding patterns together provides a more complete idea of how people are doing in terms of being able to afford retirement than arbitrary estimates such as income replacement ratios.
+ Full Document (PDF)
‘The Impact of PPACA on Employment-Based Health Coverage of Adult Children to Age 26,’ and ‘Spending Adjustments Made By Older Americans to Save Money’
The Impact of PPACA on Employment-Based Health Coverage of Adult Children to Age 26MANDATE FOR COVERING ADULT CHILDREN: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) enacted March 23, 2010, requires that group health plans and insurers make dependent coverage available for children until they attain the age of 26, regardless of tax or student status, or dependent status as it relates to financial support. The mandate to offer coverage to adult children ages 19?25 took effect for policy years that begin on or after Sept. 23, 2010, but since January is the beginning of the plan year for most employment-based health plans, many insurers adopted the requirements of the law before the effective date.AVAILABLE DATA: This report reviews the evidence as to whether the mandate to extend coverage to adult children had an effect on the percentage of young adults with coverage in late 2010 and early 2011. Data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) and Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) are examined, as well as data from the Center for Disease Control’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).PPACA HAS INCREASED COVERAGE: The data from these three surveys suggest that the PPACA’s coverage mandate has resulted in an increase in the percentage of young adults with employment-based health coverage as a dependent.—–Spending Adjustments Made By Older Americans to Save MoneyINVOLUNTARY SPENDING ADJUSTMENTS: Data from the 2009 Internet Survey of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) show that more than 1 in 5 (21.5 percent) of those aged 50 or above made prescription drug changes such as switching to cheaper generic drugs, getting free samples, stopping pills or reducing dosages, and nearly as many (19.4 percent) skipped or postponed doctor appointments to save money.LESS HEALTHY DO MORE ADJUSTMENTS: Among those in (self-reported) poor health, 29.9 percent made prescription drug changes and 36.5 percent skipped or postponed doctor appointments to save money. For those in excellent health, the comparable numbers were 15.3 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.SINGLE WOMEN AND BLACKS ADJUST MOST: Among different demographic groups, single women and blacks had the highest involuntary spending adjustments: 22.8 percent and 24.8 percent of single women made prescription drug changes and skipped or postponed doctor appointments to save money. Similar numbers for blacks were 25.9 percent and 27.3 percent, respectively.
401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity In 2010
After a decade marked by two severe bear markets, 401(k) plan participants have adopted a more balanced approach to their portfolios, according to a report released today by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Fears that younger participants in 401(k) plans would abandon stock investing are not borne out by the data, which suggest that greater use of target-date funds is helping workers keep their investing on track.
Variation in Public Opinion on the Future of Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings from the 2011 Health Confidence Survey
Variation in Public Opinion on the Future of Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings from the 2011 Health Confidence Survey
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Executive Summary
CONTINUED CONFIDENCE IN AVAILABILITY: The public is in large part confident that employers and unions will continue to offer health coverage following enactment of the federal health reform law. In 2011, 57 per-cent of individuals with employment-based coverage were extremely or very confident that their employer or union would continue to offer health coverage.
NOT CONFIDENT OF AFFORDABILITY: However, they are not confident that they could afford to purchase coverage on their own even if they were given the money by plan sponsors. In 2011, 20 percent were extremely or very confident that they could afford to purchase coverage.
MOST CONFIDENT: Individuals who are most confident in the future availability of employment-based health benefits and in their ability to afford and choose the best plan are those who are more educated, have higher income, are more satisfied with their health coverage, and rate the U.S. health care system higher.
LIKELY TO PURCHASE: Despite the low confidence levels that they could afford to purchase coverage, very few individuals reported that they are not likely to purchase coverage if employers and unions stopped offering it.
+ Full Document (PDF)
‘Public Opinion on the Future of Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings From the 2011 Health Confidence Survey,’ and ‘How Do Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior Vary by State?’
‘Public Opinion on the Future of Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings From the 2011 Health Confidence Survey,’ and ‘How Do Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior Vary by State?’
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Public Opinion on the Future of Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings From the 2011 Health Confidence Survey
CONFIDENCE IN AVAILABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED COVERAGE FALLING: Over the long-term, public confidence that employers and unions will continue to offer health coverage has fallen. In 2011, 57 percent of individuals with employment-based coverage were extremely or very confident that their employer or union would continue to offer health coverage, down from 68 percent in 2000. Most of the erosion in confidence occurred between 2000 and 2002.
FAMILIARITY WITH INSURANCE EXCHANGES LACKING: The vast majority of the population, 62 percent, reported that they were not at all familiar with health insurance exchanges, a key provision in the health reform law of 2010 (PPACA). However, the public does have opinions about the oversight of them: A majority of the population is not confident in the ability of the federal or state governments to run the exchanges, and 42 percent are not confident in private insurers’ ability to run them.
How Do Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior Vary by State?
ROLE OF STATES: This study uses relatively new data to show the difference in financial literacy and financial behavior across states. After controlling for the effect of individual demographic characteristics, most bottom-ranked states have a statistically significant effect on their residents’ financial literacy and almost all states have a statistically significant effect on their residents’ financial behavior. This suggests that there might be something going on at the state level whereby individual financial literacy and financial behavior are being shaped not only by individual demographic characteristics but also by the state in which people live.
TOP-RANKED STATES: New Hampshire and Alaska top the financial literacy and the financial behavior rankings, respectively. Minnesota, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Wisconsin, Utah, and Maryland also appear in the top 15 of both rankings.
BOTTOM-RANKED STATES: Louisiana and West Virginia are at the bottom of the financial literacy and the financial behavior rankings, respectively. Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, and Indiana also appear in the bottom 15 of both rankings.
+ Full Document (PDF)
2011 Health Confidence Survey: Most Americans Unfamiliar With Key Aspect of Health Reform, and Is There a Future for Retirement?
2011 Health Confidence Survey: Most Americans Unfamiliar With Key Aspect of Health Reform, and Is There a Future for Retirement?
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
THE LATEST HCS: Findings from the 2011 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) demonstrate that, despite the passage of health reform a year ago, most Americans are unfamiliar with health insurance exchanges, a key aspect of the health reform law (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, or PPACA). Furthermore, dissatisfaction with the American health care system remains widespread; while confidence regarding various aspects of today’s health care system is not high, it has neither fallen nor increased as a result of passage of health reform.
…
EBRI’S 68TH POLICY FORUM: This article summarizes the presentations and discussions at the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s May 12, 2011, policy forum, on the topic: “Is There a Future for Retirement?” This was EBRI’s 68th policy forum and was attended by about 120 policy and professional experts.
+ Full Document (PDF)
Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2011 Current Population Survey
Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2011 Current Population Survey
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Most Americans who have health insurance still get it through their jobs, but employment-based health coverage continues to decline, according to a new report from EBRI. While employment-based health coverage is still the dominant source of health insurance in the United States, it has been steadily shrinking since 1994.
Is There a Future for Retirement?
Is There a Future for Retirement?
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
EBRI’S 68TH POLICY FORUM: This article summarizes the presentations and discussions at the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s May 12, 2011, policy forum, on the topic: “Is There a Future for Retirement?” This was EBRI’s 68th policy forum and was attended by about 120 policy and professional experts.
WORKING LONGER: Various reports in recent years suggest that working an extra two or three years would solve the problem of inadequate retirement savings for most people, but this has not been well documented or quantified. New EBRI research presented at the policy forum addressed that question with comprehensive data from its Retirement Security Projection Model.®
IMPLICATIONS: A broad range of experts discussed a variety of key issues related to America’s aging work force and the implications of working longer. These include such issues as whether financially feasible retirement ages can be kept within acceptable ranges, and the implications of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers working past age 65.
+ Full Document (PDF)
How Union and Nonunion Health Insurance Coverage Fared During the Recession
How Union and Nonunion Health Insurance Coverage Fared During the Recession (PDF)
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Even though both union workers and nonunion workers’ employment-based health benefits were affected by the recession, union workers’ health insurance coverage suffered less, according to a study from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
For example, union workers covered by health insurance through their own job fell from 82 percent to 80.4 percent between 2007 and 2009, a 2 percent decline. For nonunion workers with coverage through their own job, coverage fell from 55.9 percent to 52.2 percent over the period, a 6.5 percent decline. Additionally, the overall percentage of union workers with any employment-based coverage fell from 93.4 percent to 91 percent (a 2.6 percent decline), while among nonunion workers it fell from 74.3 percent to 70.6 percent (a 5 percent decline).
Twenty-Five Years After Federal Pension Reform
Twenty-Five Years After Federal Pension Reform
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
From press release: (PDF)
As various states grapple with reforming their public employee pension systems, the experience of how the federal government managed pension reform 25 years ago may provide some useful background to governors and state legislatures.
The nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), in its July EBRI Issue Brief, takes a look at how the federal government handled pension reform and the political and legislative forces involved when Congress enacted the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986. The report, “Twenty-Five Years After Federal Pension Reform,” is available on line at www.ebri.org
The legislative history of the five-year effort to pass FERS, as the system is known, is written by Jamie Cowen, who served as chief counsel of the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Civil Service, and who played a key role in passing FERS. After more than two decades, the law has changed little, and remains the basis for retirement benefits provided to some 3 million civilian federal employees.
FERS contained the most sweeping overhaul of retirement benefits for civilian workers in recent history, and resulted in large part from the need to shore up the Social Security system by broadening its base (by mandating coverage of the federal civilian work force), along with pressure from then-President Ronald Reagan to reduce federal spending. It ultimately contained three main elements:
- Mandatory Social Security coverage of civilian federal workers.
- A basic and mandatory defined benefit pension plan, but with a lower level of benefits than the rich
- plan that existed at the time.
A new voluntary thrift savings 401(k)-type plan (patterned after the private sector) where worker contributions matched by the employer would be invested in a limited variety of investment funds.
The report notes that through a remarkable combination of bipartisanship and trust among the key players in both the House and Senate (at the time, controlled by different parties), and shrewd legislative strategizing, lawmakers enacted a sweeping and cost-cutting law that fundamentally restructured federal retirement benefits. Lawmakers deliberately and carefully insulated the federal Thrift Savings Plan from political manipulation and minimized the impact of the federal workers’ investments in the financial markets.
‘Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2009,’ and ‘How Changes in Longevity Annuity Prices and Longevity Risk Affect Retirement Income Adequacy’
‘Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2009,’ and ‘How Changes in Longevity Annuity Prices and Longevity Risk Affect Retirement Income Adequacy’
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2009
HEALTH COVERAGE ON A MONTHLY BASIS: This analysis examines employment-based health benefit coverage rates on a monthly basis from December 1995 to December 2009, to allow for more accurate identification of changes in trends, and to more clearly show the effects of recessions and unemployment on changes in coverage.
RECESSION PERIODS: The recession officially started in December 2007 and ended in December 2009. Between December 2007–August 2009 the percentage of workers with coverage in their own name fell from 60.4 percent to 55.9 percent. After August 2009, there appeared to be what might be the beginning of a recovery in the percentage of workers with employment-based coverage. By December 2009, 56.6 percent of workers had employment-based coverage.
How Changes in Longevity Annuity Prices and Longevity Risk Affect Retirement Income Adequacy
FOLLOW-UP STUDY: Building on the May 2011 EBRI Issue Brief, this article analyzes how changes in longevity annuity prices and longevity risk affect retirement income adequacy of retirees facing three different types of risk—investment income, longevity, and long-term care risk.
CHANGING PRICES AND RISK: As the price of a longevity annuity increases, and as longevity risk grows, more initial retirement wealth is needed and the degree of annuitization needs to be increased—especially to achieve a 90 percent chance of adequacy (the inverse is true as well). The optimal degree of annuitization with a longevity annuity, however, depends on how much an individual’s retirement portfolio is invested in equities.
+ Full Document (PDF)
