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Employee Benefits Survey
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Defined benefit retirement plans: Employee contribution requirement and method of contribution Data Table

Table 3. Defined benefit retirement plans: Employee contribution requirement and method
of contribution, private industry workers,  National Compensation Survey, March 2009

(All workers participating in defined benefit plans = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Employee
contribution
required

Fixed percent of earnings1

Employee
contibution
not required

Total

Mean fixed
percent of
earnings

Median fixed
percent of
earnings

All workers

4

2

4.8

–

96

Worker characteristics

          

Management, professional, and related

3

3

4.6

–

97

    Management, business, and financial

2

1

4.6

5.0

98

    Professional and related

4

4

4.5

–

96

Sales and office:
   Sales and related

1

–

–

–

99

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

5

2

3.5

–

95

    Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and
     forestry

4

–

–

–

96

    Installation, maintenance, and repair

6

–

–

–

94

Production, transportation, and material moving

5

1

3.3

–

95

    Production

4

–

–

–

96

    Transportation and material moving

6

2

3.4

–

94

Full time

4

2

4.7

–

96

Part time

5

–

–

–

95

Union

4

–

–

–

96

Nonunion

4

3

4.3

–

96

Wage percentiles:2

          

    Second 25 percent

2

2

–

–

98

    Third 25 percent

3

1

4.3

3.9

97

    Highest 25 percent

4

2

4.3

–

96

    Highest 10 percent

3

2

4.9

–

97

Establishment characteristics

          

Goods-producing industries

3

1

3.0

3.0

97

    Construction

4

–

–

–

96

    Manufacturing

2

1

3.0

3.0

98

Service-providing industries

4

3

5.0

–

96

    Trade, transportation, and utilities

4

2

2.9

–

96

        Retail trade

–

–

–

–

100

        Transportation and warehousing

6

–

–

–

94

    Financial activities:
        Finance and insurance

1

[3]

2.6

–

99

            Credit intermediation and related activities

1

1

2.2

–

99

            Insurance carriers and related activities

–

–

–

–

100

    Education and health services:
         Educational services:
           Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

2

2

4.3

5.0

98

    Leisure and hospitality:
         Accomodation and food services

–

–

–

–

100

1 to 99 workers

4

2

3.3

–

96

    1 to 49 workers

5

3

3.2

–

95

    50 to 99 workers

2

–

–

–

98

100 workers or more

4

2

5.3

–

96

    100 to 499 workers

6

–

–

–

94

    500 workers or more

2

1

2.9

3.0

98

Geographic areas

          

New England

3

1

5.4

7.3

97

Middle Atlantic

2

1

4.3

–

98

East North Central

2

1

5.4

–

98

West North Central

6

–

–

–

94

South Atlantic

5

2

3.8

3.9

95

Pacific

2

1

4.8

–

98

Footnotes:

1The employee contributes a fixed percentage of his or her earnings to the retirement plan.

2The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and
below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National Compensation Survey: Occupational
Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for more details.

3Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not
meet publication criteria. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms"
at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20082009.htm.