Majority of Americans Still Have no Retirement Plan

Study author Craig Copeland, Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) senior research associate, pointed this out in his publication in EBRI’s May Notes. Copeland also pointed out that certain subgroups of American workers, such as younger, less-educated, lower-income, and minority workers, are behind their peers in ownership of and contributions to these plans.

According to the study, the proportion of workers ages 21 – 64 participating in a 401(k)-type plan increased from 24.1% in 1996 to 33.1% in 2005. Copeland found that workers with higher incomes and education levels were more likely to participate in these plans. Among workers with family incomes below $10,000, 7.4% participated in a 401(k)-type plan, compared with 45.2% of workers with family incomes of $75,000 or more.

More than half (50.4%) of workers with a graduate degree participate in a 401(k)-type plan, compared to 10.9% of workers without a high school diploma. The likelihood of a worker participating in a 401(k)-type plan also increased with age through age 55, then declined for those ages 55 – 64, the report said.

Similar trends were seen with IRA ownership. Twenty-three percent of workers ages 21-64 owned an IRA at the end of 2005 – up from 15.9% at the end of 1996. Among workers with family income of $75,000 or more, 35.1% owned an IRA, while among those with family income of $10,000-$19,999, 8.3% owned an IRA.

Three percent of workers ages 21-24 owned an IRA, compared with 33.9% of workers ages 55-64. Only 2.7% of workers without a high school diploma owned an IRA, while 46.5% of those with a graduate degree owned an IRA.

As ownership of 401(k)-type plans increased, so too did the mean annual contribution for those participants who made contributions – from about $3,728 to $4,274 in 2005 dollars. The percentage of individuals making a contribution at the maximum dollar amount allowed under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations also rose, from 3.2% in 1996 to 8.9% in 2004.

Copeland further found that the average annual investment earnings in 401(k)-type plans increased from $5,160 in 1996 to $5,801 in 2005. EBRI noted that assets grew sharply in 401(k)-type plans, from $144 billion in 1985 to $1.79 trillion in 1999. Assets fell to $1.57 trillion in 2002, then increased, reaching $2.40 trillion in 2005.

Data for IRAs did not follow the same pattern, the study found. Of those individuals making a contribution to an IRA, the mean contribution in 2005 was $2,540.10, compared to $2,041 (in 2005 dollars) in 1996. However, the percentage of those making the maximum allowable contribution declined from 66.4% in 1996 to 26.8% in 2005.

Average annual earnings in IRAs were down to just over $3,553 in 2005 from approximately $4,600 (in 2005 dollars) in 2001. Of the $2.5 trillion in IRAs in 2002, $2.3 trillion was in traditional IRAs, representing more than 90% of all IRA assets, EBRI said. Roth IRAs amounted to $77.6 billion, and other IRAs held $133.4 billion in 2002.

The May 2008 EBRI Notes can be accessed at www.ebri.org .