U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Employee Benefits Survey
PRINT:Print
EBS EBS Program Links
Table 10. Defined benefit plans: Primary formula, private industry workers, 2017
(All workers participating in defined benefit plans = 100 percent)
Characteristics Traditional Traditional plan formula Non- traditional Nontraditional plan formula
Percent of terminal earnings Dollar times years(1) Percent of career earnings Percent of employer contribution Cash balance Pension equity Other

Worker characteristics

All workers

 63 32 21 - - 37 35 - -

Management, professional, and related

 46 36 - - - 54 52 - -

Management, business, and financial

 43 36 - - - 57 56 - -

Professional and related

 48 36 - - - 52 49 - -

Sales and office

 53 34 - - - 47 45 - -

Sales and related

 48 16 - - - 52 52 - -

Office and administrative support

 55 40 - - - 45 43 - -

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

 85 20 - - 19 15 12 - -

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry

 - - - - 29 - - - -

Installation, maintenance, and repair

 76 37 27 - - 24 21 - -

Production, transportation, and material moving

 88 32 41 - - 12 9 - -

Production

 - - 62 - - - - - -

Transportation and material moving

 90 43 27 - - 10 - - -

Full time

 63 34 20 - - 37 34 - -

Part time

 62 18 25 - - 38 38 - -

Union

 89 28 44 - - 11 10 - -

Nonunion

 46 35 - - - 54 51 - -

Average wage within the following categories(2):

Lowest 25 percent

 61 - - - - 39 39 - -

Second 25 percent

 69 24 33 - - 31 30 - -

Third 25 percent

 61 30 25 - - 39 36 - -

Highest 25 percent

 63 37 15 - - 37 35 - -

Highest 10 percent

 55 37 - - - 45 43 - -

Establishment characteristics

Goods-producing industries

 86 26 46 - - 14 9 - -

Construction

 - - - - 37 - - - -

Manufacturing

 - 32 44 - - - - - -

Service-providing industries

 56 34 13 - - 44 43 - -

Trade, transportation, and utilities

 79 47 19 - - 21 21 - -

Wholesale trade

 - 69 - - - - - - -

Transportation and warehousing

 - 52 - - - - - - -

Utilities

 - 64 - - - - 28 - -

Information

 64 - - - - 36 36 - -

Financial activities

 34 25 - - - 66 62 - -

Finance and insurance

 30 28 - - - 70 66 - -

Credit intermediation and related activities

 21 20 - - - 79 79 - -

Insurance carriers and related activities

 38 35 - - - 62 52 - -

Professional and business services

 58 - - - - 42 42 - -

Education and health services

 35 24 - - - 65 64 - -

Educational services

 - 61 - - - - - - -

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

 - 52 - 26 - - - - -

Health care and social assistance

 - - - - - - 71 - -

1 to 99 workers

 60 26 - - - 40 39 - -

1 to 49 workers

 - 31 - - - - - - -

50 to 99 workers

 64 - 31 - - 36 36 - -

100 workers or more

 64 34 22 - - 36 33 - -

100 to 499 workers

 65 30 24 - - 35 32 - -

500 workers or more

 64 36 20 - - 36 35 - -

Geographic areas

Northeast

 57 28 - - - 43 41 - -

Middle Atlantic

 62 31 - - - 38 36 - -

South

 67 38 23 - - 33 30 - -

South Atlantic

 71 35 26 - - 29 27 - -

West South Central

 - 58 - - - - - - -

Midwest

 65 22 35 - - 35 33 - -

East North Central

 64 18 37 - - 36 34 - -

West North Central

 69 - - - - 31 31 - -

West

 64 42 - - - 36 33 - -

Pacific

 62 40 - - - 38 35 - -

Footnotes:
(1) Benefits are based on a dollar amount per month for each year of service recognized by the plan.
(2) Surveyed 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 data from the National Compensation Survey publication, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2017."

Note: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data do 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/glossary20162017.htm.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

 

Last Modified Date: May 15, 2018