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What statistics does the BLS provide on frozen defined benefit plans?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) first published the Employee Benefits in Industry: A Pilot Survey in 1980, which was two years before the creation of the first 401(k) plan. Retirement plans are presently classified as either defined benefit or defined contribution plans.

Defined contribution plans determine the value of individual accounts on the basis of the amount of money contributed and the rate of return on the money invested. A defined benefit retirement plan provides a guaranteed benefit based on a fixed formula, such as a pension.

In March 2023, 49 percent of private industry workers and 18 percent of state and local government workers participated in defined contribution plans. Eleven percent of private industry workers and 75 percent of state and local government workers participated in defined benefit plans.

Among civilian workers with defined contribution plans, 56 percent had access in March 2013 and 63 percent had access in March 2023. For defined benefit plans, 28 percent of civilian workers had access in March 2013 and 24 percent had access in March 2023. (See chart 1). In the recent past, the decisions of different major companies to freeze defined benefit plans has made headlines. But what does that mean for their workers?

Table 1. Percent of civilian workers with access to defined benefit and defined contribution plans, March 2013-2023
Year	Defined benefit plans	Defined contribution plans
2013	28%	56%
2014	28%	56%
2015	28%	57%
2016	27%	58%
2017	28%	59%
2018	26%	60%
2019	26%	60%
2020	25%	60%
2021	25%	61%
2022	25%	62%
2023	24%	63%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

What is a “freeze”?

A company freezing a plan typically means that the plan is closed to new enrollees and has limited future benefit accruals for some or all active plan participants. Some frozen plans may no longer allow current participants to accrue additional benefits, which is considered a hard freeze. Others may change the plan's prospective benefit formula in such a way as to limit or cease future benefit accruals for some active participants (a “soft freeze”). The length of time is calculated based on the year the plan was modified.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics first published information on frozen retirement plans in 2009, initially by only publishing data on “open” and “frozen” plans, and then adding more nuance to the “frozen” definition in 2014 by including the distinction between “soft freeze“ and “hard freeze” plans. Today the Employee Benefits in the United States publication provides statistics on the percentage of workers having access to open, soft frozen or hard frozen plans, on the time since frozen defined benefit plans stopped accruing benefits, and on plan alternatives.

Participation rates for defined benefit plans

Before delving into further data available for frozen plans, it is important to note worker participation rates in defined benefit plans. In March 2013, 69 percent of union workers and 11 percent of nonunion workers participated in defined benefit plans among private industry workers. In March 2023, 58 percent of private industry union workers and 7 percent of nonunion workers participated in defined benefit plans. (See chart 2).

Table 2. Percent of private industry workers participating in defined benefit plans by bargaining status, March 2013-2023
Year	Union	Nonunion
2013	69%	11%
2014	67%	11%
2015	67%	10%
2016	65%	10%
2017	66%	9%
2018	61%	8%
2019	57%	8%
2020	54%	8%
2021	56%	8%
2022	56%	7%
2023	58%	7%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

Chart 3 illustrates participation rates for private industry workers by establishment size in March 2013 and March 2023. Among private industry workers in establishments with less than 50 workers, 6 percent in March 2013 and 4 percent in March 2023 were participating in defined benefits. Among establishments with 500 workers or more, 41 percent of workers in March 2013 and 27 percent of workers in March 2023 participated in defined benefits. (See chart 3).

Table 3. Percent of private industry workers participating in defined benefit plans by establishment size, March 2023
Establishment size	2013	2023
All workers	16%	11%
Less than 50 workers	6%	4%
50-99 workers	10%	7%
100-499 workers	18%	12%
500 workers or more	41%	27%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

Defined benefit retirement plans: Open, soft and hard frozen plans

In March 2023, out of all private industry workers participating in defined benefit plans, 80 percent of union workers and 45 percent of nonunion workers participated in open defined benefit plans. Fifteen percent of union and 28 percent of nonunion private industry workers participated in soft frozen defined benefit plans with all participants still accruing benefits. One percent of union and 6 percent of nonunion private industry workers were participating in soft frozen plans with some participants still accruing benefits. There were 4 percent of union and 22 percent of nonunion workers participating in hard frozen plans. (See chart 4).

Table 4. Percent of private industry workers participating in open, soft frozen, and hard frozen defined benefit plans by bargaining status, March 2023
Provision	Union	Nonunion
Open plans	80%	45%
Soft frozen with all participants still accruing benefits	15%	28%
Soft frozen with some participants still accruing benefits	1%	6%
Hard frozen	4%	22%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

Plan alternatives to defined benefit frozen plans

The Employee Benefits in the United States publication also provides statistics on whether workers have alternatives, and what alternatives workers have to frozen defined benefit plans. Estimates are available for these alternatives are: a modified existing defined benefit plan, a new defined benefit plan, an enhanced existing defined contribution plan, and a new defined contribution plan.

In March 2023, 95 percent of union and 92 percent of nonunion private industry workers participating in a frozen defined benefit plan had alternatives to that frozen plan available. An enhanced existing defined contribution plan was the most common alternative for private industry workers. In the case when employers may already have a defined contribution plan, they can provide an incentive to those affected by a defined benefit freeze to switch to the defined contribution plan. Unlike the new defined benefit plan alternative, an enhanced existing defined contribution ⁽¹⁾ plan is more readily available to nonunion workers and workers within the service-providing industries ⁽²⁾. Chart 5 illustrates the breakout of plan alternatives for union and nonunion workers.

Twenty-five percent of union and 14 percent of nonunion private industry workers participating in a frozen defined benefit plan had a new defined benefit plan alternative. Thirty-seven percent of union workers and 44 percent of nonunion workers had enhanced existing defined contribution plan alternatives. Forty-three percent of union workers and 29 percent of nonunion workers had a new defined contribution plan alternative. Five percent of union and 8 percent of nonunion workers had no alternative. Eleven percent of union and nonunion workers had a modified existing benefit plan alternative. (See chart 5).

Table 5. Percent of private industry workers participating in frozen defined benefit plans with alternatives by bargaining status, March 2023
Provision	Union	Nonunion
With alternatives	95%	92%
New defined benefit plan alternative	25%	14%
Enhanced existing defined contribution plan alternative	37%	44%
New defined contribution plan alternative	43%	29%
Modified existing defined benefit plan alternative	11%	11%
No alternatives	5%	8%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

Defined benefit frozen plans that closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits

The Employee Benefits in the United States publication also provides estimates on the years since frozen benefit plans closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits. In March 2023, among private industry workers who participated in frozen defined benefit plans, 8 percent were in a plan that closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits less than 6 years ago, 18 percent between 6 and 10 years, 41 percent between 11 and 15 years, and 33 percent greater than 15 years ago.

Among private industry management, professional and related occupational workers, the time since frozen benefit plans closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits was 6 percent when less than 6 years, 18 percent when between 6 to 10 years, 48 percent when between 11 to 15 years and 28 percent when greater than 15 years. For sales and office occupational workers, it was 5 percent when less than 6 years, 22 percent between 6 to 10 years, 40 percent when between 11 to 15 years and 33 percent when more than 15 years. Among natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations, the time since frozen benefits closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits was 5 percent when less than 6 years, 18 percent when between 6 to 10 years, 26 percent when between 11 to 15 years and 50 percent when more than 15 years. Production, transportation, and material moving occupations had 13 percent when less than 6 years, 15 percent when between 6 to 10 years, 33 percent when between 11 to 15 years and 39 percent when more than 15 years. (See chart 6).

Table 6. Percent of private industry workers participating in frozen defined benefit plans closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits by occupational group, March 2023
Provision	Less than 6 years	Between 6 to 10 years	Between 11 to 15 years	More than 15 years
All occupations	8%	18%	41%	33%
Management, professional and related occupations	6%	18%	48%	28%
Sales and office occupations	5%	22%	40%	33%
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	5%	18%	26%	50%
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	13%	15%	33%	39%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

In March 2023, among workers that were participating in frozen defined benefit plans, the 50^th percentile shows that half of private industry workers were in a plan that had closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits 14 years ago or less and the other half 14 years ago or more. For state and local government workers at the 50^th percentile, half were in a plan that had closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits 12 years ago or less and the other half 12 years ago or more.

The 10^th percentile contains the bottom 10 percent of workers. At this percentile, the number of years since frozen plans closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits were 6 years or less for private industry workers and 10 years or less for state and local government workers. The 90^th percentile contains the top 10 percent of workers. At this percentile, the number of years since frozen plans closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits were 20 years or more for private industry and 26 years or more for state and local government. (See chart 7).

Table 7. The number of years since frozen defined benefit plans closed to new workers or stopped accruing benefits by percentile and ownership, March 2023
Provision	Private industry workers	State and local government workers
10th percentile	6	10
25th percentile	10	11
50th percentile (median)	14	12
75th percentile	17	16
90th percentile	20	26
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey

Additional resources:

Factsheets

Articles

Additional Articles

The glossary of employee benefit terms provides definitions for plans, provisions, coverage, and related terms. The National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods provides information on the survey design, calculations, weighting, and imputation methods used to produce compensation estimates. The calculation section includes information on the measures of reliability available for each estimate.

Historical data

Estimates on the cost, coverage, and provisions of employer–sponsored benefit plans from 2010 to present are available through the Excel dataset, and public database. Historical data are available on the Annual Summaries of Benefit Coverage and Health and Retirement Plan Provisions pages. Benefit estimates are not a time series and users are advised to consider changes in survey design, survey scope, estimation methods, weighting, and sample rotation when analyzing the data.

End notes

⁽¹⁾ Examples of enhancements to existing defined contribution plans include increasing employer contribution, improving fee transparency, reducing vesting requirements, etc.

⁽²⁾ Alternatives to frozen defined benefit plans (PDF).

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2024