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Employee Benefits Survey
EBS EBS Program Links

Standard Errors
Defined benefit frozen retirement plans: benefits accrual

Table 5. Standard errors for defined benefit frozen retirement plans:1
Benefits accrual, private industry workers,  National Compensation
Survey, March 2011

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

1.3

1.8

Worker characteristics

      

Management, professional, and related

3.0

2.6

2.4

    Management, business, and financial

3.2

2.0

2.9

    Professional and related

3.7

–

–

Service

8.7

–

–

    Protective service

7.3

–

7.3

Sales and office

3.0

1.4

2.9

    Office and administrative support

3.0

1.2

2.9

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

4.0

1.2

3.8

    Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and
     forestry

8.5

–

–

    Installation, maintenance, and repair

4.8

1.5

4.4

Production, transportation, and material moving

4.1

2.0

4.2

    Production

4.3

1.8

4.1

    Transportation and material moving

6.3

3.6

6.9

Full time

1.9

1.4

1.8

Part time

4.8

–

–

Union

4.2

–

–

Nonunion

2.2

1.6

2.0

Average wage within the following categories:3

      

    Lowest 25 percent

5.9

–

–

        Lowest 10 percent

–

–

11.7

    Second 25 percent

3.5

1.4

3.4

    Third 25 percent

3.2

1.5

3.1

    Highest 25 percent

2.6

2.1

2.0

        Highest 10 percent

3.4

2.6

2.6

Establishment characteristics

      

Goods-producing industries

3.1

2.0

2.8

    Manufacturing

3.0

2.0

2.8

Service-providing industries

2.3

1.7

2.2

    Trade, transportation, and utilities

3.8

–

–

        Wholesale trade

8.4

–

–

        Retail trade

4.7

–

–

        Utilities

1.4

–

–

    Information

6.4

–

–

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

5.6

3.0

5.2

    Professional and business services

8.4

–

–

    Education and health services

3.2

1.6

2.5

        Educational services

10.1

–

–

            Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

10.2

–

–

        Health care and social assistance

3.3

1.7

2.6

1 to 99 workers

4.8

1.3

4.7

    1 to 49 workers

6.4

2.1

6.1

    50 to 99 workers

8.6

–

–

100 workers or more

2.2

1.5

1.8

    100 to 499 workers

3.6

1.8

3.3

    500 workers or more

2.8

2.1

2.4

Geographic areas

      

New England

8.3

0.8

8.3

Middle Atlantic

3.6

1.5

3.9

East North Central

4.4

–

–

West North Central

9.5

–

–

South Atlantic

3.9

1.5

3.6

East South Central

8.1

–

–

West South Central

4.3

1.9

3.7

Pacific

5.7

–

–

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

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, 2010." See Technical Note for
more details.

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


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/glossary20102011.htm.