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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, State and local government workers, National Compensation Survey,
March 2010

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

Characteristics

Employee
contribution
required

Fixed percent of annual earnings1

Employee
contribution
not required

Total

Mean fixed
percent of
annual
earnings

Median fixed
percent of
annual
earnings

All workers

79

72

6.4

6.4

21

Worker characteristics

 

 

 

 

 

Management, professional, and related

79

72

6.4

6.4

21

    Professional and related

80

74

6.5

6.4

20

        Teachers

82

75

6.7

6.4

18

            Primary, secondary, and special education
             school teachers

81

76

6.8

6.4

19

Service

78

72

6.7

6.5

22

    Protective service

75

69

7.1

7.1

25

Sales and office

78

72

6.0

6.0

22

    Office and administrative support

77

71

6.1

6.0

23

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

75

72

5.8

6.0

25

Production, transportation, and material moving

80

73

6.2

6.0

20

Full time

78

72

6.4

6.4

22

Part time

88

76

6.5

7.0

12

Union

79

69

6.4

6.3

21

Nonunion

78

75

6.4

6.4

22

Average wage within the following categories:2

 

 

 

 

 

    Lowest 25 percent

78

74

6.3

6.4

22

        Lowest 10 percent

79

76

6.4

6.4

21

    Second 25 percent

79

72

6.2

6.0

21

    Third 25 percent

74

68

6.4

6.3

26

    Highest 25 percent

82

74

6.6

6.4

18

        Highest 10 percent

85

74

6.8

7.3

15

Establishment characteristics

 

 

 

 

 

Service-providing industries

79

72

6.4

6.4

21

    Education and health services

81

74

6.5

6.4

19

        Educational services

82

76

6.6

6.4

18

            Elementary and secondary schools

82

76

6.6

6.4

18

            Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

83

71

6.4

6.4

17

        Health care and social assistance

69

62

5.6

5.5

31

            Hospitals

64

60

5.8

6.0

36

    Public administration

73

67

6.2

6.0

27

1 to 99 workers

80

73

5.9

6.0

20

    1 to 49 workers

85

80

5.6

6.0

15

    50 to 99 workers

74

66

6.3

6.0

26

100 workers or more

78

72

6.4

6.4

22

    100 to 499 workers

79

73

6.4

6.4

21

    500 workers or more

78

72

6.4

6.4

22

State government

77

65

5.9

6.0

23

Local government

79

74

6.5

6.4

21

Geographic areas

 

 

 

 

 

New England

99

63

5.8

5.0

1

Middle Atlantic

93

92

5.2

5.5

7

East North Central

66

59

7.8

9.4

34

West North Central

94

94

5.8

4.5

6

South Atlantic

57

56

5.6

6.0

43

East South Central

91

91

6.3

7.3

9

Pacific

78

59

6.7

7.0

22

Footnotes:

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

2The categories are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers with earnings both above
and below the threshold. The average wages are based on the estimates published in the "National Compensation Survey: Occupational
Earnings in the United States, 2009." See Technical Note for more details.


NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related
terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20092010.htm.