Archives: Resources
Why Pensions Are Important
This fact sheet explains the role pensions play in the overall retirement security of American workers, retirees, and their families. Pensions are Important to Retirement Security Social Security provides only a safety net. Average yearly Social Security payment: $22,095 Annual minimum-wage salary: $15,080 Average portion of pay Social Security replaces: 35% Most retirees have little […]
Data on workers’ access to retirement plans and take up rates
Participation At any one time only half of workers participate in a retirement plan at work. This is, in part, because employers are not required to have retirement plans, and also because those who offer plans can limit retirement plan coverage to certain classes of workers. In addition, workers offered 401(k) and other retirement savings […]
How Much Is Saved in 401(k)s
Increasingly, retirement savings plans have become the way American workers accumulate the money they will need to supplement their Social Security payments in retirement. The most common retirement savings plan is the 401(k). 401(k)s are offered by employers, but it is typically up to the employee to decide whether to participate and how much to […]
Data on full time and part time workers
Participation of full and part-time workers, NCS, March 2023 Private industry only*. Percent by full and part-time status Access Participation Take-up Rate Full-time workers 79% 63% 79% Part-time workers 44% 22% 51% All workers (private industry and local government workers)** Percent by full and part-time status Access Participation Take-up Rate Full-time workers 82% 66% […]
Tips for Keeping Track of Your Pension: Additional Detail
This page is a supplement to the Keeping Track of Your Pensions fact sheet. Keep Records Pension plans have a duty under the law to maintain records about the pension plan and the individuals entitled to benefits from the plan. Workers should keep back-up records of their own in case there are mistakes in the […]
Tips for Keeping Track of Your Pension
Each year, the Pension Rights Center gets calls and e-mails from retirees asking for help. Many are seeking a pension plan that was “lost” because their former company moved or merged. We also hear from workers who need help proving that they worked long enough to qualify for benefits. Other people come to us because their pension […]
How Retirement Plans Can Fix Contribution Mistakes
Employers sometimes make mistakes when they put money into a 401(k), profit sharing plan or other defined contribution plan. If they correct the mistake by making a contribution to the plan, the contribution is called a QNEC or Qualified Non-Elective Employer Contribution. Here are some examples of a QNEC (pronounced cue-neck). Companies sometimes fail to […]
Common Questions about the Butch Lewis Act
1. What is the Butch Lewis Act? The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act is legislation to help severely financially troubled multiemployer plans meet their benefit obligations to retired participants. It was included as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021. 2. […]
Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021
The bipartisan Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021 (S. 1730), reintroduced by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Steve Daines (R-MT) on May 20, 2021, will make it possible for countless former employees to find their old employers and claim their retirement benefits. The legislation is aimed at solving a problem that affects many […]
What the Butch Lewis Act Will and Will Not Do
On March 11, 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, President Biden signed the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act into law. The law will preserve and restore the pensions of more than one million retirees and workers in an estimated 200-225 severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans.[i] It is the result of many years […]
State-based retirement plans for the private sector
States around the country are looking into ways of providing retirement savings opportunities for individuals who do not have access to an employer retirement plan. States with a retirement program under consideration or with a program adopted are in bold below. A brief description of the state program is included for each bolded state. […]
Understanding Survivor Benefits in Private Retirement Plans
For married participants in retirement plans, a top concern is making sure that a spouse will receive their retirement benefits if they die. Luckily, most pension plans and many other retirement plans in the United States provide a survivor benefit to widowed spouses of retirement plan participants. In some cases, a survivor benefit can also be left […]
