Data & Research January 4, 2007

Workers Want Access to DC Plans

A majority of private industry workers would opt to participate in a defined contribution plan if their companies offered them, according to a recent Department of Labor report.
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The report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 65% of service workers and part-time workers and as much as 86% of union workers said they would enroll in such plans.

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The research also suggested that differences in participation rates for defined contribution plans are due more to workers’ access rather than workers’ willingness to get involved. Only 25% of part-time workers have access while 63% of full-time workers and 70% of workers at companies with more than 100 employees have access to DC plans.


Full-time workers holding lower wage jobs had greater access (53%) than for all workers in lower wage jobs (43%), but still fell behind the access rate for full-time workers in higher wage jobs (72%).

“Workers in lower wage jobs appear to be at a disadvantage when it comes to saving for retirement,” the report said. “Not only do lower wage workers generally have less access to defined contribution retirement plans, they also tend to have less money available for savings.”


The results showed that the rate for full-time workers in small establishments also was higher than the rate for all workers in small establishments, but it still trailed the access rate for full-time workers in larger establishments.


According to the BLS data, current worker participation in defined contribution plans is as follows:


  • Union workers were slightly more likely (44%) than non-union workers (43%) to participate.

  • 53% of white collar workers participated, while 40% of blue collar workers did so.

  • Just more than half (51%) of full-time workers participated in the plans, while 16% of part-time workers did so.

  • Workers making $15 or more per hour were more likely (58%) than those making less than $15 an hour (31%).

Additional government retirement trends research is here and here.

Deals & People January 4, 2007

Combs to Head Vanguard Strategy Operation

Ann Combs, who helped shape national pension and employee benefit policy during five years as head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), will be taking a new strategy development post at The Vanguard Group in February.
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She will lead a newly created Institutional Strategic Consulting group with oversight responsibilities for Vanguard’s retirement policy, research, and plan consulting activities, Vanguard announced in a news release.

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Combs stepped down from the EBSA in October 2006 after 5 세 years. During that time, she played a pivotal role in formulating the recently-enacted Pension Protection Act. Before that, Combs was vice president and chief counsel for pensions and retirement at the American Council of Life Insurers and a principal of William Mercer, Inc.

Combs received a BA degree from the University of Notre Dame and a JD degree from George Washington University.

Vanguard, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, oversees more than $400 billion in assets for defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, and other institutional clients. It provides full-service defined contribution recordkeeping services for 1,800 plan sponsors and 2.8 million participants, the company said.

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