BLS Reports on Access to Health and Retirement Benefits

The BLS National Compensation Survey, which provides measures of compensation cost levels and trends, as well as incidence and provisions of employee benefit plans, also finds that only 23% of part-time employees had medical care benefits available. Access or availability also varied by establishment size, with 57% for employees of small businesses (those with fewer than 100 employees), compared with 84% in medium and large businesses (those with 100 employees or more).

Retirement benefits followed a similar pattern, according to the survey data. In private industry, 74% of full-time employees had access to a retirement plan, compared with 37% of part-time employees. Retirement benefits were available to 50% of employees of small businesses and 82% of employees in medium and large businesses. The survey defines an employee with access to a medical or retirement plan as having an employer-provided plan available for use, regardless of the decision to enroll or participate in the plan.

In addition, the survey finds that paid sick leave benefits were also more commonly offered to full-time employees and those in medium and large businesses in private industry—74% of full-time employees and 24% of part-time employees. Similarly, 52% of employees in small businesses and 72% in medium and large businesses had access to a paid sick leave benefit.

Other findings from the survey include:

• In private industry, 65% of employees had access to retirement benefits and 48% of employees participated in retirement plans. In state and local government, 89% of employees had access and 81% participated in retirement plans.

• Almost all full-time employees in state and local government (99%) had access to retirement and medical care benefits. For state and local government part-time employees, 38% had access to retirement benefits and 24% had access to medical care benefits.

• For private industry employees in the lowest 10% of average earnings, employers paid 70% of the single coverage medical plan premium. For employees in the highest 10% of average earnings, the employer share of the premium was 81%. For family coverage, the employer share of the premium was 57% for employees in the lowest 10% of earnings, significantly less than the 72% for employees in the highest 10% of earnings.

• Access and participation in life insurance benefits varied significantly for full-time and part-time employees. In private industry, 72% of full-time employees had access to life insurance benefits. In contrast, only 13% of part-time employees in private industry had access. For state and local government workers, 90% of full-time employees and 22% of part-time employees had access. Most employees who had access participated in life insurance benefits.

• Paid holidays were provided to 90% of full-time and 37% of part-time employees in private industry. In state and local government 74% of full-time employees and 30% of part-time employees had access.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says more information will be published in September about the incidence and provisions of health care benefits, retirement benefits, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability benefits, paid holidays and vacations, and other selected benefits.

More information about the survey results can be obtained by calling 202-691-6199, sending an email to ncsinfo@bls.gov, or by visiting http://www.bls.gov/ebs.