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September 1985, Vol. 108, No.
9
Age-related reductions
in workers' life insurance
In 1984, 54 percent of participants in employer financed group life insurance plans of medium and large firms faced age-based reductions or discontinuation of protection late in their careers. For example, the amount of coverage may be reduced after workers reach age 65 (benefits are seldom reduced prior to age 65), or discontinued after age 70. This article examines the prevalance and details of these age-related changes in life insurance coverage.
The analysis is based on data collected in the Bureau of Labor Statistics annual survey of employee benefits in medium and large firms in the United States—excluding Alaska and Hawaii.1 The survey is conducted among private sector establishments employing at least 50, 100, or 250 workers, depending on the industry. Industrial coverage includes establishments in mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and selected services. The 1984 survey, based on a probability sample of 1,499 establishments, covered 45,000 establishments and 21 million workers. Excluded from the survey were executive managers (those whose decisions have direct and substantial effects on the organization's policy-making) and part-time, temporary, seasonal, and constant travel-status employees (such as airline flight crews and long-distance truck drivers).
This excerpt is from an article published in the September 1985 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.
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1 See Robert Frumkin and William Wiatrowski, "Bureau of Labor Statistics takes a new look at employee benefits," Monthly Labor Review, August 1982, pp. 41-45.
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Employee Benefits Survey
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