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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 March 2016
(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
52
40
1
7
Worker characteristics
       
Management, professional, and related
47
45
2
7
    Management, business, and financial
50
35
2
13
    Professional and related
45
49
1
5
        Teachers
41
58
–
–
            Primary, secondary, and special education
             school teachers
41
58
–
–
        Registered nurses
56
30
–
–
Service
53
43
–
–
    Protective service
46
53
–
–
Sales and office
52
37
1
10
    Sales and related
57
22
1
19
    Office and administrative support
51
40
1
8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
67
29
1
3
    Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and
     forestry
76
22
–
–
    Installation, maintenance, and repair
55
38
3
4
Production, transportation, and material moving
59
29
2
9
    Production
48
33
3
15
    Transportation and material moving
67
26
2
5
Full time
51
40
2
7
Part time
62
33
–
–
Union
56
42
[5]
1
Nonunion
49
38
2
11
Average wage within the following categories:6
       
    Lowest 25 percent
55
37
–
–
        Lowest 10 percent
69
27
–
4
    Second 25 percent
55
36
1
8
    Third 25 percent
53
38
1
7
    Highest 25 percent
49
43
2
6
        Highest 10 percent
46
44
–
–
Establishment characteristics
       
Goods-producing industries
55
29
3
13
Service-providing industries
52
41
1
6
    Education and health services
46
50
–
–
        Educational services
40
59
[5]
1
            Elementary and secondary schools
40
59
–
–
            Junior colleges, colleges, and universities
39
60
1
1
        Health care and social assistance
59
29
–
–
            Hospitals
57
30
–
–
    Public administration
41
59
–
–
1 to 99 workers
60
28
1
11
    1 to 49 workers
57
28
1
13
    50 to 99 workers
64
27
–
–
100 workers or more
50
43
2
6
    100 to 499 workers
54
37
3
7
    500 workers or more
48
45
1
6
Geographic areas
       
Northeast
50
41
1
8
    New England
53
40
1
6
    Middle Atlantic
49
41
1
9
South
53
41
1
5
    South Atlantic
58
36
2
5
    East South Central
43
53
–
–
    West South Central
49
45
–
–
Midwest
59
31
2
8
    East North Central
61
29
2
8
    West North Central
54
36
–
–
West
45
46
–
–
    Mountain
53
39
–
–
    Pacific
42
49
–
–
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 2016.

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/glossary20152016.htm.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.