Defined benefit frozen retirement plans: benefits accrual Standard Errors

Table 5. Standard errors for defined benefit frozen retirement plans:1
Benefits accrual, private industry workers,  National Compensation
Survey, March 2010

Characteristics

Retirement benefit accrual2

All existing
participants
continue to
accrue
benefits

Some
existing
participants
continue to
accrue
benefits

No existing
participants
continue to
accrue
benefits

All workers

1.9

1.5

1.8

Worker characteristics

 

 

 

Management, professional, and related

3.2

–

–

    Management, business, and financial

3.3

2.4

3.0

    Professional and related

4.0

3.8

2.7

Service

9.7

–

–

    Protective service

10.0

–

–

Sales and office

2.9

0.9

2.7

    Sales and related

2.9

0.9

2.8

    Office and administrative support

3.6

1.2

3.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

3.2

0.9

3.0

    Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and
     forestry

9.0

–

–

    Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.4

1.1

3.2

Production, transportation, and material moving

3.4

1.9

3.1

    Production

3.9

–

–

    Transportation and material moving

5.6

–

–

Full time

2.0

1.6

1.8

Part time

4.7

–

–

Union

3.5

–

–

Nonunion

2.1

1.8

2.0

Average wage within the following categories:3

 

 

 

    Lowest 25 percent

7.4

–

–

    Second 25 percent

3.4

1.2

3.6

    Third 25 percent

3.1

1.3

2.9

    Highest 25 percent

2.8

2.6

1.9

        Highest 10 percent

3.5

–

–

Establishment characteristics

 

 

 

Goods-producing industries

3.1

2.4

2.4

    Manufacturing

3.1

2.3

2.5

Service-providing industries

2.3

1.9

2.2

    Trade, transportation, and utilities

3.1

0.6

3.1

        Wholesale trade

4.6

–

–

        Retail trade

3.8

–

–

        Transportation and warehousing

10.6

–

–

        Utilities

5.8

–

–

    Information

5.2

–

–

    Financial activities:
       Finance and insurance:
           Insurance carriers and related activities

7.4

–

–

    Professional and business services

11.0

–

–

    Education and health services

3.8

1.7

2.9

        Educational services:
           Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

10.0

–

–

        Health care and social assistance

3.9

1.9

2.7

1 to 99 workers

5.2

1.4

5.0

    1 to 49 workers

6.0

–

–

    50 to 99 workers

9.7

–

–

100 workers or more

2.1

1.8

1.6

    100 to 499 workers

3.0

–

–

    500 workers or more

2.8

2.6

2.1

Geographic areas

 

 

 

New England

10.4

–

–

Middle Atlantic

4.9

–

–

East North Central

4.7

–

–

West North Central

10.0

–

–

South Atlantic

4.4

1.8

3.5

West South Central

3.5

1.9

2.5

Pacific

4.9

–

–

Footnotes:

1Plans closed to new workers or plans that cease accruals for some or all plan participants.

2Benefit accruals are for existing participants since the plan was closed to new workers or stopped
accruing benefits.

3The 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: 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/glossary20092010.htm.