Reports

Many government agencies and private organizations collect statistics, conduct studies, and issue reports related to pensions and retirement income security. Click the links below to read reports on the following topics:

General Pension Reports
Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans
Defined Benefit Plans
Defined Contribution Plans
Pension Plan Freezes, Changes, and Trends
Wealth, Savings, and Retirement Reports
Women's Retirement Security
Polls Related to Retirement Security
Public Pension Plans

You may need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these reports.

These are the latest reports added to our web site:

  • Income of the Aged Chartbook, 2008 (Social Security Administration, April 2010). Since 1941, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has periodically surveyed the aged to determine their economic status. These SSA reports are published under the title Income of the Population 55 or Older. The most recent edition of that publication is based on 2008 data, which, along with special tabulations, form the basis of this chartbook. This publication covers the population aged 65 or older.
  • The Funding of State and Local Pensions: 2009-2013 (Center for Retirement Research, April 2010). This brief reports state and local pension funding levels for fiscal 2009, a year for which stock market performance is known and for which actuarial valuations are available for roughly half of the 126 plans in our sample. It also reports projections for 2010-2013 under alternative assumptions about the performance of the stock market. (Reports on Public Pension Plans)
  • Veterans’ Benefits: Pension Benefit Programs (Congressional Research Service, February 2010). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several pension programs for veterans and their surviving spouses and dependent children. This report will provide information on the most current pension programs—those programs for which a veteran, a surviving spouse, or a dependent child becomes eligible on or after January 1, 1979—and on the special pension program for Medal of Honor recipients. (General Pension Reports)
  • Does Autoenrollment Affect Employer Contributions? (Urban Institute, December 2009). Low participation rates limit the effectiveness of 401(k) plans as a reliable source of retirement income. About one in five workers eligible to participate in their employer’s 401(k) plans do not enroll (Munnell, Golub-Sass, and Muldoon 2009). Firms can raise participation rates by automatically enrolling employees as soon as they become eligible. However, higher participation rates increase costs for employers that match employee contributions, and firms appear to reduce the rate at which they contribute to 401(k) plans when they adopt autoenrollment. (Reports on Defined Contribution Plans)