New research by EBRI indicates that the level of participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans decreased in 2012 for almost all size plans. Even participation in public sector plan decreased in 2012.
Participation rates in both public sector and private plans with more than 500 employees are significantly below their peaks:
Private companies with more than 1,000 workers enjoyed a 54.8 percent participation rate in 2012, compared with a peak of 63.8 percent in 1998.
Public sector plans stood at 71.5 percent in 2012 versus a high of 77.3 percent in 2000.
Participation at companies with fewer than 10 workers was 13.5 percent in 2012, compared with 18.6 percent in 2000.
EBRI speculates that market declines in 2000 and 2008 may have led to the lower participation rates.
Overall 39.4 percent of all workers (61.6 million) participated in an employer-sponsored plan in 2012, compared with 39.7 percent (61.0 million) in 2011. In 2012, 53.5 percent of full time salaried employees age 21-64 were covered by an employer-sponsored plan.
The EBRI study covers DC and DB plans, so some workers in smaller plans may be participating in other types of employer-sponsored retirement plans like SIMPLEs and SEPs. Other factors affecting participation include income, education and ethnicity.
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