Private sector companies have trended away from offering pensions because of an onerous regulatory environment. Since the 1970s, laws and regulations have created funding volatility for companies sponsoring pensions, rather than facilitating predictable costs that enable companies to effectively manage cash flow.
A wide body of research has focused on the numbers of companies trending away from pensions, yet substantially less attention has focused on the specific reasons why. In 2005 only 33% of private sector employees with workplace retirement plans had pensions, yet coverage was at 85% in 1975.
The research brief accessed from the National Institute on Retirement Security on March 5, 2011 examines the root causes behind the trend.
Comments