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Employee Benefits Survey
EBS EBS Program Links

Defined benefit retirement plans: Open, soft and hard frozen plans

Table 5. Defined benefit retirement plans: Open, soft and hard freeze plans, civilian
workers,1 National Compensation Survey, March 2015

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

Characteristics

Open plans2

Soft freeze3

Hard freeze4

All
participants
still accruing
benefits

Some
participants
still accruing
benefits

All workers

53

40

1

6

Worker characteristics

        

Management, professional, and related

47

46

1

5

    Management, business, and financial

52

36

2

10

    Professional and related

45

50

1

4

        Teachers

42

58

–

–

            Primary, secondary, and special education
             school teachers

42

57

–

–

        Registered nurses

56

34

–

–

Service

54

44

–

–

    Protective service

46

53

–

–

Sales and office

52

36

2

10

    Sales and related

57

24

4

15

    Office and administrative support

51

38

1

9

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

65

31

–

–

    Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and
     forestry

79

20

–

–

    Installation, maintenance, and repair

50

43

–

–

Production, transportation, and material moving

62

29

2

8

    Production

53

32

–

–

    Transportation and material moving

69

26

2

4

Full time

52

41

1

6

Part time

60

36

1

3

Union

55

43

[5]

1

Nonunion

50

38

2

10

Average wage within the following categories:6

        

    Lowest 25 percent

57

37

1

5

        Lowest 10 percent

69

28

–

–

    Second 25 percent

55

36

1

7

    Third 25 percent

55

38

1

6

    Highest 25 percent

49

44

2

5

        Highest 10 percent

46

46

2

7

Establishment characteristics

        

Goods-producing industries

60

28

3

9

Service-providing industries

51

42

1

5

    Education and health services

45

52

[5]

3

        Educational services

40

60

[5]

[5]

            Elementary and secondary schools

40

59

–

–

            Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

38

60

–

–

        Health care and social assistance

59

32

–

–

            Hospitals

56

35

–

–

    Public administration

41

59

–

–

1 to 99 workers

63

28

1

8

    1 to 49 workers

62

27

2

9

    50 to 99 workers

65

29

–

–

100 workers or more

50

43

1

6

    100 to 499 workers

53

37

3

7

    500 workers or more

49

46

1

5

Geographic areas

        

Northeast

52

39

2

7

    New England

47

44

1

8

    Middle Atlantic

53

38

2

7

South

53

42

1

4

    South Atlantic

58

36

1

5

    East South Central

45

52

–

–

    West South Central

48

47

1

4

Midwest

57

35

1

7

    East North Central

59

33

1

8

    West North Central

53

39

–

–

West

48

45

–

–

    Mountain

51

39

–

–

    Pacific

47

47

–

–

1Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector,
except the federal government. See Technical Note for further explanation.

2Plans open to new participants.

3New employees are not allowed in the plan. Benefit accruals may continue for existing participants.

4Participants in these plans stop accruing benefits on the date the plan is frozen. The benefit the employee receives is
calculated as of the day the plan was frozen.

5Less than 0.5.

6Surveyed occupations are classified into wage categories based on the average wage for the occupation, which may
include workers with earnings both above and below the threshold.  The categories were formed using percentile estimates
generated using wage data for March 2015.


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/glossary20142015.htm .