Burden estimates

Private Pension Plan Bulletin Historical Tables and Graphs

U. S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
June 2010

2007 Data Release Ver. 1.3

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION E: HISTORICAL TABLES AND GRAPHS

E7.

Number of Participants in Pension Plans with 100 or More
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................8

E8.

Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................9

E1.

Number of Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................1

E8g.

E1g.

Number of Pension Plans (Graph)
By type of plan, 1975-2007............................................................2

Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans (Graph)
by type of plan, 1975-2007…………………………………...…10

E9.

E2.

Number of Pension Plans with Fewer than 100
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................3

Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans with
Fewer than 100 Active Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................11

E10.

Number of Pension Plans with 100 or More
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................4

Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans with
100 or More Active Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................12

E11.

Pension Plan Assets
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................13

E3.

E5.

Number of Participants in Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................5

E5g.

Number of Participants in Pension Plans (Graph)
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................6

E6.

Number of Participants in Pension Plans with Fewer than
100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007.............................................................7

E11g. Total Assets of Private Pension Plans (Graph)
by type of plan, 1975-2007…………………………………...…14

i

E12.

Pension Plan Assets of Plans with Fewer than 100
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................15

E13.

Pension Plan Assets of Plans with 100 or More
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................16

E14.

E20g1. Number of 401(k) Type Plans and Active Participants
(Graph),
1984-2007.....................................................................................26

Pension Plan Contributions
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................17

E14g. Pension Plan Contributions (Graph)
by type of plan, 1975-2007…………………………………...…18
E15.

E16.

E17.

E20g2. Assets, Contributions, and Benefit Payments of 401(k)
Type Plans (Graph),
1984-2007.....................................................................................27

Pension Plan Contributions to Plans with Fewer than 100
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................19
Pension Plan Contributions to Plans with 100 or More
Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................20
Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................21

E17g. Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed (Graph)
by type of plan, 1975-2007……………………………………...22

E21.

Aggregate Rates of Return Earned
by Private Pension Plans with 100 or More Participants,
1988-2007.....................................................................................28

E22.

Aggregate Investment Performance
of Private Pension Plans with 100 or More Participants,
1988-2007.....................................................................................29

E23.

Aggregate Rates of Return Earned
by Employee Stock Ownership Plans and 401(k) Plans with 100
or More Participants, 1993-2007................................................30

E18.

Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed from Plans with
Fewer than 100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................23

E24.

Number of 401(k) Type Plans and Assets
by extent of participant direction of investments,
1999-2007...............................................................……..………31

E19.

Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed From Plans with 100 or
More Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007...........................................................24

E25.

Number of Total and Active Participants in 401(k) Type plans
by extent of participant direction of investments,
1999-2007..............................................................................…...32

E20.

Number of 401(k) Type Plans, Participants, Assets,
Contributions, and Benefit Payments,
1984-2007….................................................................................25

E26.

Contributions and Benefits of 401(k) Type Plans
by extent of participant direction of investments,
1999-2007....…...........................................................…………..33

ii

Appendix A: Changes for the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin and
2002 Form 5500 Research File –
Timing Concepts......................................................................................34
Appendix B: Changes for the 2005 Private Pension Plan Bulletin and
2005 Form 5500 Research File –
Active Participants and Weights........................................................ 35-39
Appendix C: Notes on Changes Between Versions of the 2007 Private
Pension Plan Bulletin Historical Tables and Graphs..............................40

iii

Table E1. Number of Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

311,094
359,980
402,627
442,998
470,921

103,346
113,970
121,655
128,407
139,489

207,748
246,010
280,972
314,591
331,432

308,651
357,521
400,134
440,443
468,265

101,214
111,859
119,525
126,238
137,243

207,437
245,662
280,609
314,205
331,022

2,443
2,459
2,493
2,555
2,656

2,132
2,111
2,130
2,169
2,246

311
348
363
386
410

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

488,901
545,611
594,456
602,848
604,434

148,096
167,293
174,998
175,143
168,015

340,805
378,318
419,458
427,705
436,419

486,142
542,789
591,417
599,822
601,413

145,764
165,042
172,662
172,843
165,732

340,378
377,747
418,755
426,979
435,681

2,759
2,822
3,039
3,026
3,021

2,332
2,252
2,336
2,300
2,283

427
570
703
726
738

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

632,135
717,627
733,029
729,922
731,356

170,172
172,642
163,065
145,952
132,467

461,963
544,985
569,964
583,971
598,889

629,069
714,563
729,909
726,648
728,276

167,911
170,431
160,904
143,833
130,472

461,158
544,132
569,005
582,815
597,804

3,066
3,063
3,112
3,275
3,080

2,261
2,210
2,157
2,119
1,995

805
853
955
1,156
1,085

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

712,308
699,294
708,335
702,097
690,344

113,062
101,752
88,621
83,596
74,422

599,245
597,542
619,714
618,501
615,922

709,404
696,300
705,226
698,918
687,158

111,251
99,931
86,797
81,737
72,555

598,153
596,369
618,429
617,180
614,603

2,904
2,994
3,109
3,179
3,186

1,812
1,821
1,824
1,859
1,867

1,092
1,173
1,285
1,320
1,319

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

693,404
696,224
720,041
730,031
732,995

69,492
63,657
59,499
56,405
49,895

623,912
632,566
660,542
673,626
683,100

690,265
692,957
716,912
726,997
729,983

67,682
61,790
57,720
54,699
48,168

622,584
631,167
659,192
672,297
681,815

3,139
3,267
3,130
3,035
3,011

1,810
1,867
1,779
1,706
1,727

1,328
1,399
1,351
1,329
1,285

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

735,651
733,470
733,312
700,012
683,070

48,773
46,859
47,369
47,036
47,503

686,878
686,611
685,943
652,976
635,567

732,654
730,534
730,347
697,075
680,165

47,015
45,159
45,771
45,466
45,970

685,639
685,375
684,577
651,609
634,195

2,997
2,935
2,965
2,937
2,905

1,758
1,700
1,598
1,570
1,533

1,239
1,235
1,366
1,367
1,372

2005
2006
2007

679,095
694,550
707,787

47,614
48,579
48,982

631,481
645,971
658,805

676,151
691,513
704,818

46,090
47,072
47,493

630,061
644,440
657,325

2,945
3,037
2,969

1,524
1,507
1,489

1,420
1,530
1,480

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

1

Graph E1g. Number of Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
800,000

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0
1975

1980

1985

1990
Total

Defined Benefit

SOURCE: Table E1, Page 1

2

1995

2000
Defined Contribution

2005

Table E2. Number of Pension Plans with Fewer Than 100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

282,472
329,855
372,010
408,665
435,334

83,311
93,410
101,258
105,474
116,143

199,161
236,445
270,752
303,191
319,191

282,285
329,615
371,719
408,401
435,053

83,198
93,244
101,038
105,323
115,954

199,087
236,371
270,681
303,078
319,099

187
240
291
265
281

113
166
220
151
189

74
74
71
113
92

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

451,046
505,368
552,258
558,146
558,943

123,591
142,304
149,600
149,164
142,912

327,455
363,064
402,658
408,982
416,031

450,740
505,109
551,899
557,847
558,649

123,340
142,165
149,391
148,955
142,699

327,400
362,944
402,508
408,892
415,950

306
259
359
299
293

251
139
309
209
213

55
120
150
90
81

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

583,476
666,669
681,238
675,525
675,706

145,430
148,168
139,644
123,146
111,048

438,046
518,501
541,594
552,378
564,658

583,171
666,424
680,921
675,117
675,470

145,292
148,005
139,472
122,962
110,941

437,879
518,419
541,449
552,154
564,529

305
245
310
408
236

138
163
169
184
107

167
82
141
224
129

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

659,144
645,517
650,282
642,615
628,707

93,821
83,298
69,883
64,937
56,322

565,323
562,218
580,399
577,678
572,385

658,848
645,182
649,924
642,196
628,307

93,730
83,181
69,778
64,799
56,134

565,118
562,001
580,146
577,396
572,173

296
334
358
419
399

91
117
104
137
188

205
217
253
282
212

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

631,117
632,520
653,696
661,613
663,601

52,405
47,104
43,647
41,264
35,696

578,712
585,416
610,049
620,349
627,905

630,780
632,069
653,347
661,373
663,311

52,311
46,941
43,519
41,177
35,574

578,469
585,128
609,828
620,195
627,737

337
451
350
240
290

94
163
128
87
122

243
288
222
153
168

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

664,458
661,992
662,307
630,386
613,623

35,214
33,991
34,824
34,955
35,689

629,245
628,001
627,485
595,431
577,934

664,167
661,726
662,035
630,093
613,330

35,149
33,920
34,733
34,871
35,622

629,019
627,806
627,301
595,222
577,709

291
267
273
292
291

65
71
89
83
67

225
195
183
209
225

2005
2006
2007

600,264
613,058
626,068

36,058
37,212
37,953

564,205
575,846
588,115

599,924
612,624
625,668

35,988
37,151
37,883

563,939
575,474
587,786

338
433
400

72
61
70

268
372
330

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

3

Table E3. Number of Pension Plans with 100 or More Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

28,622
30,125
30,617
34,333
35,587

20,035
20,560
20,397
22,933
23,346

8,587
9,565
10,220
11,400
12,241

26,366
27,906
28,415
32,042
33,212

18,016
18,615
18,487
20,915
21,289

8,350
9,291
9,928
11,127
11,923

2,256
2,219
2,202
2,290
2,375

2,019
1,945
1,910
2,018
2,057

237
274
292
273
318

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

37,855
40,243
42,198
44,702
45,491

24,505
24,989
25,398
25,979
25,103

13,350
15,254
16,800
18,723
20,388

35,402
37,680
39,518
41,975
42,763

22,424
22,877
23,271
23,888
23,033

12,978
14,803
16,247
18,087
19,731

2,453
2,563
2,680
2,727
2,728

2,081
2,113
2,127
2,091
2,070

372
450
553
636
657

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

48,658
50,958
51,791
54,397
55,650

24,742
24,474
23,421
22,805
21,419

23,917
26,484
28,370
31,593
34,231

45,897
48,139
48,988
51,530
52,807

22,619
22,426
21,432
20,870
19,531

23,279
25,713
27,556
30,661
33,275

2,761
2,818
2,802
2,867
2,844

2,123
2,047
1,988
1,935
1,888

638
771
814
932
956

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

53,164
53,777
58,053
59,482
61,638

19,242
18,454
18,738
18,660
18,100

33,922
35,324
39,315
40,822
43,538

50,556
51,118
55,302
56,722
58,851

17,521
16,750
17,019
16,938
16,421

33,035
34,368
38,283
39,784
42,430

2,608
2,660
2,751
2,760
2,787

1,721
1,704
1,719
1,722
1,679

887
956
1,032
1,038
1,108

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

62,287
63,704
66,345
68,419
69,393

17,087
16,553
15,852
15,141
14,199

45,200
47,150
50,493
52,278
55,195

59,486
60,888
63,565
65,624
66,672

15,371
14,849
14,201
13,522
12,594

44,115
46,039
49,364
52,102
54,078

2,802
2,815
2,780
2,795
2,721

1,716
1,704
1,651
1,619
1,605

1,086
1,111
1,129
1,176
1,117

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

71,193
71,477
71,004
69,626
69,447

13,557
12,868
12,546
12,078
11,815

57,635
58,608
58,459
57,547
57,632

68,487
68,807
68,312
66,982
66,833

11,866
11,239
11,037
10,593
10,348

56,621
57,568
57,275
56,388
56,486

2,708
2,670
2,692
2,644
2,612

1,692
1,628
1,508
1,485
1,466

1,012
1,039
1,184
1,158
1,147

2005
2006
2007

78,833
81,492
81,719

11,557
11,368
11,029

67,278
70,125
70,690

76,225
78,888
79,150

10,102
9,922
9,610

66,123
68,966
69,540

2,606
2,604
2,569

1,453
1,446
1,419

1,154
1,158
1,150

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

4

Table E5. Number of Participants in Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

44,511
47,679
50,236
52,371
55,097

33,004
34,207
34,997
36,103
36,810

11,507
13,472
15,239
16,268
18,287

35,724
39,072
41,637
43,665
46,085

24,514
25,927
26,754
27,762
28,275

11,210
13,145
14,884
15,903
17,810

8,787
8,607
8,598
8,707
9,013

8,490
8,280
8,243
8,341
8,536

297
327
355
365
477

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

57,903
60,564
63,243
69,147
73,895

37,979
38,903
38,633
40,025
40,980

19,924
21,661
24,610
29,122
32,915

48,910
51,326
54,105
59,645
64,244

29,555
30,331
30,289
31,405
32,329

19,354
20,995
23,816
28,240
31,915

8,993
9,238
9,138
9,501
9,651

8,423
8,572
8,343
8,620
8,651

570
666
794
881
1,000

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

74,665
76,672
78,223
77,685
76,405

39,692
39,989
39,958
40,722
39,958

34,973
36,682
38,265
36,963
36,447

65,414
67,069
68,550
67,734
65,964

31,436
31,676
31,650
32,386
31,248

33,978
35,392
36,900
35,348
34,716

9,251
9,603
9,673
9,951
10,441

8,256
8,313
8,308
8,336
8,710

995
1,290
1,365
1,615
1,731

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

76,924
77,662
81,914
83,870
85,117

38,832
39,027
39,531
40,267
40,338

38,091
38,634
42,383
43,603
44,778

67,003
67,583
71,783
73,770
74,940

30,522
30,683
31,395
32,151
32,197

36,481
36,900
40,388
41,619
42,743

9,921
10,079
10,131
10,100
10,177

8,311
8,344
8,136
8,116
8,142

1,611
1,735
1,995
1,983
2,035

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

87,452
91,716
94,985
99,455
101,794

39,736
41,111
40,392
41,552
41,427

47,716
50,605
54,593
57,903
60,368

76,969
80,841
83,881
87,930
90,585

31,341
32,467
31,678
32,634
32,466

45,629
48,374
52,204
55,296
58,119

10,483
10,876
11,103
11,525
11,210

8,395
8,644
8,714
8,918
8,961

2,088
2,231
2,389
2,607
2,249

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

103,329
106,579
107,354
106,296
106,335

41,613
42,067
42,078
42,179
41,707

61,716
64,511
65,275
64,117
64,627

91,529
94,306
94,572
93,402
93,308

32,127
32,444
32,796
32,729
32,186

59,403
61,862
61,776
60,674
61,122

11,800
12,272
12,782
12,893
13,027

9,486
9,623
9,283
9,450
9,521

2,314
2,649
3,499
3,443
3,505

2004r 3/
2005
2006
2007

115,707
117,406
121,995
123,854

41,918
41,925
42,146
42,280

73,789
75,481
79,849
81,574

102,598
104,097
108,644
110,233

32,396
32,325
32,455
32,405

70,202
71,773
76,189
77,829

13,109
13,308
13,351
13,621

9,521
9,600
9,691
9,875

3,588
3,708
3,660
3,746

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. Please see
Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
3/ The row 2004r shows participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

5

Graph E5g. Number of Participants in Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in millions)
140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
1975

1980

1985
Total

1990

1995

Defined Benefit

2000

2005

Defined Contribution

NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The higher point for 2004 represents the unadjusted
participant count. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
SOURCE: Table E5, Page 5

6

Table E6. Number of Participants in Pension Plans
with Fewer Than 100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Contribution
Benefit

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

4,080
4,660
5,116
5,143
5,389

1,552
1,795
1,993
1,828
1,802

2,528
2,865
3,124
3,316
3,587

4,066
4,648
5,104
5,127
5,372

1,543
1,787
1,985
1,820
1,792

2,524
2,861
3,120
3,307
3,580

14
12
12
16
17

9
8
8
7
10

4
4
4
9
7

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

5,741
6,298
6,877
6,872
6,886

1,995
2,154
2,155
2,154
2,013

3,746
4,143
4,722
4,718
4,873

5,725
6,283
6,854
6,855
6,869

1,980
2,148
2,144
2,144
2,013

3,744
4,135
4,710
4,711
4,856

17
15
23
17
17

15
6
11
10
12

2
9
12
7
5

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

7,553
7,926
8,413
8,345
8,200

2,059
2,033
2,008
1,720
1,396

5,495
5,893
6,405
6,625
6,804

7,537
7,914
8,400
8,329
8,188

2,052
2,025
2,000
1,713
1,392

5,486
5,889
6,400
6,616
6,796

16
12
13
16
12

8
8
8
8
4

9
4
5
9
8

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

8,268
8,441
9,076
9,087
9,152

1,279
1,226
1,129
1,030
944

6,989
7,215
7,946
8,057
8,208

8,251
8,424
9,059
9,067
9,132

1,275
1,218
1,125
1,024
935

6,976
7,206
7,934
8,043
8,197

17
17
17
20
20

4
8
5
6
9

13
8
12
14
11

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

9,373
9,571
10,276
10,679
11,104

893
794
731
718
496

8,480
8,777
9,546
9,961
10,608

9,359
9,551
10,257
10,670
11,096

890
789
724
715
493

8,469
8,762
9,533
9,955
10,603

14
21
19
9
8

3
5
6
2
3

11
16
13
6
5

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

11,038
11,059
11,037
10,866
10,798

504
467
465
464
460

10,535
10,591
10,572
10,401
10,339

11,027
11,052
11,030
10,857
10,787

503
466
462
462
458

10,525
10,585
10,566
10,395
10,330

10
7
8
9
9

1
1
3
2
2

9
6
5
6
8

2004r 3/
2005
2006
2007

11,304
11,297
11,622
11,883

460
456
463
449

10,844
10,841
11,159
11,434

11,294
11,288
11,609
11,873

458
454
462
448

10,836
10,833
11,148
11,424

10
9
13
10

2
2
2
1

8
8
11
10

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. Please
see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
3/ The row 2004r shows participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

7

Table E7. Number of Participants in Pension Plans with 100 or More Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

40,431
43,019
45,120
47,228
49,708

31,452
32,412
33,004
34,275
35,008

8,979
10,607
12,115
12,953
14,700

31,658
34,424
36,533
38,537
40,713

22,971
24,140
24,769
25,941
26,483

8,686
10,284
11,764
12,596
14,230

8,773
8,595
8,586
8,691
8,996

8,480
8,272
8,235
8,334
8,526

293
323
351
357
470

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

52,162
54,266
56,366
62,275
67,009

35,984
36,748
36,446
37,871
38,967

16,178
17,518
19,920
24,404
28,042

43,185
45,043
47,248
52,790
57,375

27,575
28,183
28,112
29,261
30,316

15,610
16,861
19,136
23,529
27,059

8,977
9,223
9,118
9,485
9,634

8,408
8,565
8,332
8,610
8,640

568
657
785
875
995

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

67,112
68,746
69,810
69,340
68,205

37,633
37,956
37,950
39,002
38,562

29,478
30,790
31,860
30,338
29,643

57,877
59,155
60,150
59,404
57,776

29,384
29,651
29,650
30,673
29,856

28,493
29,503
30,500
28,732
27,920

9,235
9,591
9,660
9,935
10,429

8,248
8,305
8,300
8,326
8,705

986
1,286
1,360
1,606
1,724

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

68,655
69,221
72,838
74,783
75,964

37,553
37,801
38,402
39,237
39,394

31,102
31,420
34,436
35,546
36,570

58,752
59,157
62,724
64,703
65,807

29,247
29,465
30,270
31,127
31,262

29,505
29,694
32,454
33,576
34,546

9,904
10,063
10,114
10,080
10,157

8,306
8,336
8,132
8,110
8,133

1,598
1,727
1,982
1,969
2,024

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

78,079
82,145
84,708
88,776
90,690

38,843
40,317
39,661
40,835
40,931

39,236
41,828
45,047
47,942
49,760

67,610
71,290
73,624
77,260
79,489

30,450
31,677
30,953
31,919
31,973

37,160
39,613
42,671
45,341
47,516

10,469
10,855
11,084
11,516
11,201

8,392
8,640
8,708
8,915
8,957

2,076
2,215
2,376
2,601
2,244

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

92,292
95,519
96,317
95,430
95,536

41,109
41,599
41,613
41,714
41,248

51,182
53,920
54,705
53,716
54,287

80,501
83,256
83,543
82,546
82,521

31,624
31,977
32,332
32,266
31,730

48,876
51,279
51,211
50,278
50,792

11,789
12,264
12,775
12,885
13,016

9,485
9,622
9,281
9,447
9,520

2,304
2,642
3,495
3,437
3,497

104,403
106,108
110,373
111,971

41,458
41,469
41,682
41,831

62,945
64,638
68,690
70,140

91,304
92,810
97,034
98,361

31,939
31,871
31,993
31,956

59,366
60,939
65,041
66,404

13,099
13,296
13,338
13,610

9,519
9,597
9,689
9,874

3,580
3,699
3,649
3,736

2004r 3/
2005
2006
2007

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
3/ The row 2004r shows participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

8

Table E8. Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

38,431
40,723
42,659
44,664
46,929

27,214
27,520
28,058
29,036
29,440

11,217
13,203
14,600
15,628
17,489

31,079
33,627
35,681
37,717
39,799

20,129
20,728
21,414
22,433
22,757

10,950
12,899
14,267
15,284
17,041

7,353
7,096
6,977
6,947
7,130

7,086
6,792
6,644
6,603
6,683

267
304
333
344
447

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

48,986
50,770
53,099
57,680
60,618

30,100
30,043
29,678
29,878
30,073

18,886
20,727
23,421
27,802
30,545

42,039
43,766
46,239
50,783
53,886

23,672
23,662
23,552
23,791
24,216

18,367
20,104
22,687
26,992
29,670

6,947
7,005
6,860
6,897
6,732

6,428
6,381
6,126
6,087
5,857

519
623
734
810
875

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

62,064
63,056
63,280
61,912
60,997

28,895
28,529
28,427
27,966
27,136

33,168
34,528
34,853
33,946
33,861

55,573
56,490
56,734
55,234
54,003

23,336
23,129
23,165
22,753
21,723

32,237
33,361
33,569
32,481
32,280

6,491
6,566
6,546
6,678
6,994

5,559
5,400
5,262
5,213
5,413

931
1,167
1,284
1,465
1,581

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

61,545
61,211
63,898
64,394
64,607

26,205
25,603
25,222
24,986
24,480

35,340
35,608
38,676
39,408
40,127

55,122
54,744
57,607
58,244
58,524

21,248
20,689
20,630
20,528
20,079

33,874
34,055
36,977
37,716
38,445

6,423
6,467
6,291
6,150
6,083

4,957
4,914
4,592
4,458
4,401

1,466
1,553
1,699
1,692
1,682

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

65,599
67,471
70,270
72,835
73,020

23,395
23,133
22,619
22,863
22,630

42,203
44,337
47,651
49,972
50,390

59,300
61,001
63,633
65,897
66,419

18,870
18,552
17,992
18,152
17,975

40,430
42,449
45,641
47,745
48,444

6,299
6,470
6,637
6,938
6,601

4,525
4,581
4,627
4,711
4,655

1,773
1,888
2,010
2,227
1,946

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

73,092
74,430
74,501
73,132
72,744

22,218
22,089
21,633
21,304
20,586

50,874
52,340
52,868
51,828
52,158

66,203
67,195
66,929
65,592
65,220

17,311
17,105
16,930
16,613
15,957

48,892
50,090
49,999
48,979
49,263

6,888
7,235
7,572
7,540
7,524

4,907
4,984
4,703
4,691
4,629

1,982
2,250
2,869
2,849
2,895

2004r 3/
2005
2006
2007

82,117
82,665
85,751
86,280

20,797
20,310
19,919
19,407

61,320
62,355
65,832
66,873

74,510
75,034
78,160
78,673

16,168
15,724
15,305
14,796

58,343
59,310
62,855
63,877

7,606
7,631
7,591
7,607

4,629
4,586
4,614
4,610

2,978
3,045
2,977
2,997

NOTE: The number of participants includes double counting of workers in more than one plan.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
3/ The row 2004r shows active participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

9

Graph E8g. Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in millions)
140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
1975

1980

1985
Total

1990

1995

Defined Benefit

2000

2005

Defined Contribution

NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The higher point for 2004 represents the unadjusted
participant count.
SOURCE: Table E8, Page 9

10

Table E9. Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans
with Fewer than 100 Active Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

4,032
4,527
4,885
4,934
5,103

1,524
1,704
1,835
1,675
1,641

2,508
2,823
3,050
3,259
3,462

4,018
4,516
4,874
4,918
5,087

1,514
1,697
1,828
1,668
1,632

2,504
2,819
3,046
3,250
3,455

14
12
11
16
16

10
8
7
7
8

4
4
4
9
7

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

5,366
5,940
6,358
6,252
6,434

1,795
1,918
1,896
1,774
1,743

3,571
4,022
4,462
4,478
4,691

5,352
5,927
6,342
6,237
6,418

1,783
1,913
1,888
1,765
1,732

3,569
4,014
4,454
4,472
4,686

14
13
16
15
16

12
5
8
9
11

2
8
8
6
5

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

7,023
7,350
7,681
7,483
7,736

1,751
1,709
1,667
1,411
1,132

5,272
5,641
6,014
6,072
6,604

7,009
7,340
7,667
7,469
7,725

1,745
1,702
1,661
1,405
1,128

5,264
5,638
6,006
6,064
6,597

14
10
14
14
11

6
7
6
6
4

8
3
8
8
7

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

7,659
7,877
8,374
8,375
8,425

1,024
970
882
794
720

6,635
6,907
7,492
7,581
7,705

7,642
7,863
8,358
8,357
8,406

1,020
963
878
789
711

6,622
6,900
7,480
7,568
7,695

17
14
16
18
19

4
7
4
5
9

13
7
12
13
10

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

8,397
8,766
9,412
9,752
10,124

670
588
534
517
515

7,727
8,178
8,878
9,235
9,609

8,384
8,747
9,394
9,744
10,108

668
584
529
515
505

7,716
8,163
8,865
9,229
9,602

13
19
18
8
16

2
4
5
2
10

11
15
13
6
6

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

9,996
9,864
9,953
9,755
9,682

511
474
484
477
469

9,485
9,390
9,470
9,278
9,213

9,976
9,849
9,940
9,740
9,665

500
466
476
469
461

9,476
9,383
9,464
9,271
9,204

20
15
14
15
17

11
9
8
8
8

9
7
6
7
9

2004r 3/
2005
2006
2007

9,394
9,354
9,633
9,801

325
319
325
315

9,070
9,035
9,308
9,486

9,387
9,347
9,624
9,793

324
319
325
315

9,063
9,028
9,299
9,479

7
7
9
8

*/
*/
*/
*/

7
7
9
8

NOTE: Data for 1999 are based on actual count. Data for 1980-1998 are imputed. The number of participants includes double counting of workers in more than one plan.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
3/ The row 2004r shows active participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
*/ Less than 500 participants.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

11

Table E10. Number of Active Participants in Pension Plans
with 100 or More Active Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

34,399
36,195
37,774
39,730
41,826

25,691
25,815
26,223
27,361
27,779

8,709
10,380
11,551
12,369
14,027

27,061
29,111
30,807
32,798
34,712

18,615
19,031
19,586
20,765
21,125

8,446
10,080
11,221
12,033
13,586

7,338
7,084
6,966
6,931
7,115

7,076
6,784
6,637
6,596
6,675

263
300
329
335
440

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

43,620
44,830
46,741
51,428
54,184

28,305
28,125
27,782
28,104
28,331

15,315
16,704
18,959
23,324
25,853

36,687
37,839
39,897
44,546
47,468

21,889
21,749
21,664
22,025
22,484

14,798
16,090
18,233
22,520
24,984

6,933
6,991
6,844
6,882
6,716

6,416
6,376
6,118
6,078
5,846

517
615
726
804
870

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

55,041
55,706
55,599
54,428
53,262

27,145
26,820
26,760
26,555
26,004

27,896
28,886
28,838
27,872
27,258

48,564
49,150
49,067
47,765
46,278

21,591
21,427
21,504
21,348
20,595

26,973
27,723
27,563
26,417
25,683

6,476
6,556
6,531
6,663
6,983

5,553
5,393
5,256
5,207
5,409

923
1,163
1,275
1,456
1,574

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

53,887
53,334
55,524
56,019
56,181

25,182
24,633
24,340
24,192
23,759

28,705
28,701
31,184
31,827
32,422

47,481
46,881
49,249
49,887
50,118

20,228
19,726
19,752
19,739
19,368

27,252
27,155
29,497
30,148
30,750

6,406
6,453
6,275
6,132
6,064

4,954
4,907
4,588
4,453
4,392

1,453
1,546
1,687
1,679
1,672

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

57,201
58,706
60,858
63,083
62,896

22,724
22,546
22,085
22,345
22,115

34,477
36,160
38,773
40,738
40,781

50,916
52,255
54,239
56,153
56,311

18,202
17,968
17,463
17,637
17,470

32,714
34,286
36,776
38,516
38,841

6,285
6,451
6,619
6,930
6,585

4,523
4,577
4,622
4,709
4,645

1,762
1,873
1,997
2,221
1,940

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

63,096
64,566
64,548
63,377
63,062

21,707
21,615
21,149
20,827
20,117

41,389
42,951
43,398
42,551
42,945

56,227
57,346
56,989
55,852
55,555

16,811
16,639
16,454
16,144
15,496

39,416
40,707
40,535
39,708
40,059

6,868
7,219
7,559
7,525
7,507

4,896
4,976
4,696
4,683
4,621

1,973
2,244
2,863
2,843
2,886

2004r 3/
2005
2006
2007

72,722
73,310
76,118
76,479

20,472
19,991
19,594
19,092

52,251
53,319
56,524
57,387

65,123
65,687
68,537
68,879

15,843
15,405
14,981
14,481

49,280
50,282
53,556
54,398

7,599
7,623
7,581
7,599

4,629
4,585
4,614
4,610

2,971
3,038
2,968
2,989

NOTE: The number of participants includes double counting of workers in more than one plan.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
3/ The row 2004r shows active participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

12

Table E11. Pension Plan Assets
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$259,963
298,440
325,074
377,195
445,430

$185,950
216,283
233,609
272,684
319,595

$74,013
82,157
91,465
104,511
125,835

$237,308
271,583
295,179
343,183
404,724

$163,984
190,389
204,781
239,884
280,326

$73,323
81,194
90,399
103,299
124,398

$22,655
26,857
29,895
34,012
40,706

$21,966
25,894
28,829
32,800
39,269

$687
963
1,066
1,211
1,437

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

563,551
628,916
788,987
923,470
1,044,592

401,455
444,376
553,419
642,359
700,669

162,096
184,540
235,567
281,111
343,922

514,583
572,101
716,281
843,693
947,373

353,967
389,846
483,536
566,369
608,703

160,616
182,615
232,744
277,323
338,670

48,968
56,814
72,706
79,777
97,212

47,488
54,890
69,883
75,990
91,966

1,480
1,924
2,823
3,788
5,246

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

1,252,739
1,382,910
1,402,488
1,503,635
1,675,597

826,117
895,073
877,269
911,982
987,971

426,622
487,837
525,219
591,653
687,626

1,136,417
1,251,034
1,266,694
1,351,845
1,505,319

716,107
772,205
751,475
772,381
832,148

420,310
478,830
515,219
579,464
673,171

116,322
131,876
135,794
151,790
170,278

110,010
122,868
125,794
139,601
155,822

6,312
9,008
10,000
12,189
14,455

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

1,674,139
1,936,271
2,094,087
2,316,272
2,298,556

961,904
1,101,987
1,146,798
1,248,180
1,210,856

712,236
834,284
947,289
1,068,092
1,087,700

1,496,300
1,743,190
1,879,033
2,091,468
2,070,804

798,167
926,424
955,621
1,049,915
1,010,275

698,133
816,766
923,412
1,041,553
1,060,529

177,839
193,080
215,053
224,804
227,752

163,737
175,562
191,177
198,265
200,581

14,102
17,518
23,877
26,540
27,171

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

2,723,735
3,136,281
3,553,757
4,021,849
4,407,805

1,402,079
1,585,397
1,735,604
1,936,600
2,057,539

1,321,657
1,550,884
1,818,152
2,085,250
2,350,266

2,458,153
2,837,125
3,213,304
3,642,656
4,008,220

1,163,416
1,316,599
1,432,788
1,599,303
1,697,424

1,294,737
1,520,526
1,780,516
2,043,353
2,310,797

265,582
299,156
340,452
379,193
399,585

238,663
268,798
302,816
337,297
360,116

26,920
30,358
37,636
41,896
39,470

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

4,202,672
3,940,991
3,617,254
4,247,900
4,693,484

1,986,177
1,825,290
1,665,657
1,940,978
2,106,325

2,216,495
2,115,702
1,951,596
2,306,922
2,587,159

3,791,754
3,546,166
3,240,299
3,836,940
4,245,418

1,620,811
1,479,992
1,346,266
1,593,269
1,727,267

2,170,942
2,066,174
1,894,033
2,243,671
2,518,150

410,918
394,825
376,955
410,960
448,066

365,365
345,298
319,392
347,709
379,058

45,553
49,527
57,563
63,250
69,008

2005
2006
2007

5,061,622
5,684,302
6,090,473

2,254,032
2,468,142
2,646,603

2,807,590
3,216,160
3,443,870

4,582,474
5,162,837
5,511,077

1,852,320
2,031,355
2,163,248

2,730,153
3,131,483
3,347,829

479,148
521,465
579,396

401,711
436,787
483,355

77,437
84,678
96,041

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. Please
see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Asset amounts shown exclude funds held by life insurance companies under allocated group insurance contracts for payment of retirement benefits. These excluded funds make up
roughly 10 to 15 percent of total private fund assets.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

13

Graph E11g. Total Assets of Private Pension Plans
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in trillions)
$7.0

$6.0

$5.0

$4.0

$3.0

$2.0

$1.0

$0.0
1975

1980

1985
Total

1990

1995

Defined Benefit

SOURCE: Table E11, Page 13

14

Defined Contribution

2000

2005

Table E12. Pension Plan Assets of Plans with Fewer than 100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$32,308
35,369
42,953
52,023
64,021

$8,781
10,329
12,459
15,661
19,498

$23,527
25,039
30,494
36,362
44,523

$32,272
35,233
42,828
51,727
63,725

$8,747
10,223
12,368
15,471
19,271

$23,524
25,010
30,463
36,255
44,453

$37
136
124
297
296

$34
107
92
190
227

$2
29
32
106
69

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

86,785
104,006
129,263
155,214
176,847

31,498
38,792
46,971
60,594
62,904

55,287
65,214
82,292
94,620
113,943

86,101
103,220
128,895
154,626
176,103

30,872
38,081
46,649
60,064
62,231

55,229
65,139
82,246
94,562
113,873

684
785
369
58
743

626
711
323
530
673

58
74
46
58
70

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

211,665
232,718
228,244
240,867
236,459

67,745
66,276
65,232
54,652
44,570

143,920
166,442
163,012
186,215
191,889

210,666
231,481
227,048
239,393
236,016

66,878
65,132
64,277
53,389
44,243

143,789
166,350
162,771
186,004
191,773

999
1,237
1,196
1,474
443

867
1,143
955
1,263
327

132
93
241
211
116

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

242,068
264,329
261,359
291,912
278,555

44,192
40,161
30,396
33,166
25,384

197,876
224,168
230,963
258,746
253,171

241,224
263,967
260,922
291,238
277,644

43,599
40,033
30,199
32,770
24,687

197,624
223,934
230,723
258,468
252,958

844
362
437
675
911

592
128
197
396
698

252
234
239
278
213

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

323,751
359,984
398,775
442,589
488,865

26,455
28,576
25,614
39,669
31,696

297,295
331,407
373,161
402,920
457,169

323,066
358,874
397,474
441,880
488,420

26,210
27,870
24,876
39,409
31,512

296,855
331,005
372,598
402,471
456,908

685
1,110
1,302
708
445

245
707
738
260
184

440
403
563
449
261

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

454,082
412,249
385,683
439,636
492,649

29,056
28,359
27,578
25,576
30,657

425,028
383,891
358,107
414,063
461,993

453,352
411,723
385,337
438,875
491,399

28,847
28,199
27,469
25,322
29,833

424,504
383,524
357,867
413,551
461,566

730
528
348
763
1,250

208
161
108
252
822

523
367
239
511
426

2005
2006
2007

526,373
579,393
622,511

31,946
37,179
38,112

494,427
542,214
584,399

525,628
578,895
622,086

31,710
37,138
37,986

493,920
541,757
584,099

745
497
426

236
41
126

509
457
300

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
NOTE: Asset amounts shown exclude funds held by life insurance companies under allocated group insurance contracts for payment of retirement benefits. These excluded funds make up
roughly 10 to 15 percent of total private fund assets.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

15

Table E13. Pension Plan Assets of Plans with 100 or More Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$227,655
263,071
282,121
325,172
381,409

$177,169
205,954
221,150
257,023
300,097

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

476,766
524,910
659,724
768,256
867,745

369,957
405,584
506,448
581,765
637,765

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

1,041,074
1,150,192
1,174,244
1,262,768
1,439,138

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

$50,486
57,118
60,971
68,149
81,312

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

$205,036
236,350
252,350
291,456
340,999

$155,237
180,166
192,413
224,413
261,055

106,809
119,326
153,276
186,491
229,979

428,482
468,881
587,386
689,066
771,270

323,095
351,405
436,887
506,305
546,472

758,372
828,797
812,037
857,330
943,401

282,702
321,395
362,207
405,438
495,737

925,751
1,019,553
1,039,646
1,112,452
1,269,303

1,432,072
1,671,942
1,832,728
2,024,360
2,020,001

917,712
1,061,826
1,116,401
1,215,014
1,185,471

514,360
610,116
716,326
809,346
834,529

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

2,399,984
2,776,297
3,154,982
3,579,261
3,918,940

1,375,623
1,556,821
1,709,990
1,896,931
2,025,843

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

3,748,591
3,528,742
3,231,570
3,808,263
4,200,834

2005
2006
2007

4,535,249
5,104,909
5,467,962

$49,799
56,184
59,936
67,044
79,945

Total

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

$22,619
26,721
29,771
33,715
40,410

$21,932
25,787
28,737
32,610
39,042

$687
934
1,034
1,105
1,368

105,387
117,476
150,499
182,761
224,797

48,284
56,029
72,337
79,190
96,469

46,862
54,179
69,560
75,460
91,293

1,422
1,850
2,777
3,730
5,176

649,229
707,073
687,198
718,992
787,905

276,521
312,480
352,448
393,460
481,398

115,523
130,639
134,598
150,316
169,835

109,143
121,725
124,839
138,338
155,496

6,180
8,915
9,759
11,978
14,339

1,255,076
1,479,224
1,618,111
1,800,230
1,793,159

754,567
886,391
925,422
1,017,145
985,588

500,509
592,832
692,689
783,085
807,572

176,995
192,718
214,617
224,130
226,841

163,145
175,434
190,979
197,869
199,884

13,851
17,284
23,637
26,261
26,958

1,024,361
1,219,476
1,444,991
1,682,330
1,893,097

2,135,087
2,478,251
2,815,831
3,200,776
3,519,800

1,137,206
1,288,729
1,407,912
1,599,894
1,665,912

997,881
1,189,521
1,407,919
1,640,882
1,853,888

264,897
298,047
339,151
378,485
399,140

238,417
268,092
302,078
337,037
359,931

26,480
29,955
37,072
41,448
39,209

1,957,122
1,796,931
1,638,080
1,915,403
2,075,670

1,791,468
1,731,811
1,593,490
1,892,859
2,125,166

3,338,401
3,134,444
2,854,961
3,398,066
3,754,018

1,591,964
1,451,793
1,318,796
1,567,947
1,697,436

1,746,437
1,682,652
1,536,166
1,830,118
2,056,585

410,187
394,296
376,609
410,197
446,817

365,156
345,137
319,283
347,457
378,235

45,031
49,160
57,324
62,739
68,582

2,222,087
2,430,963
2,608,491

2,313,163
2,673,947
2,859,471

4,056,846
4,583,942
4,888,991

1,820,611
1,994,216
2,125,261

2,236,234
2,589,726
2,763,730

478,404
520,967
578,970

401,477
436,746
483,230

76,928
84,221
95,741

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. Please
see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
NOTE: Asset amounts shown exclude funds held by life insurance companies under allocated group insurance contracts for payment of retirement benefits. These excluded funds make up
roughly 10 to 15 percent of total private fund assets.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

16

Table E14. Pension Plan Contributions
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$37,061
42,780
47,061
55,943
61,279

$24,242
28,540
31,197
37,591
40,585

$12,819
14,240
15,864
18,353
20,694

$32,970
38,161
41,931
49,793
54,217

$20,268
24,073
26,229
31,602
33,738

$12,207
14,088
15,702
18,191
20,479

$4,091
4,619
5,130
6,151
7,061

$3,974
4,467
4,968
5,989
6,847

$117
152
162
162
214

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

66,157
75,374
79,502
82,447
90,625

42,626
46,985
48,438
46,313
47,197

23,531
28,389
31,064
36,134
43,428

58,718
67,191
71,320
74,022
81,553

35,524
39,187
40,807
38,677
38,990

23,194
28,004
30,513
35,345
42,563

7,439
8,183
8,182
8,425
9,072

7,102
7,798
7,631
7,636
8,207

337
385
551
789
865

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

95,188
91,503
92,070
91,248
97,920

41,996
33,161
29,793
26,300
24,723

53,192
58,342
62,277
64,948
73,197

85,927
82,190
82,834
81,612
88,049

33,794
25,142
21,993
18,352
16,684

52,133
57,049
60,841
63,261
71,365

9,261
9,313
9,235
9,636
9,871

8,202
8,020
7,800
7,948
8,039

1,059
1,293
1,436
1,688
1,832

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

98,792
111,124
128,795
153,642
144,353

23,026
30,146
35,174
52,123
39,031

75,766
80,978
93,621
101,519
105,322

89,834
102,224
119,682
143,944
133,844

15,709
22,952
27,964
44,521
30,829

74,125
79,272
91,718
99,423
103,015

8,958
8,899
9,114
9,698
10,509

7,317
7,194
7,210
7,602
8,203

1,641
1,705
1,904
2,096
2,307

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

158,832
169,540
177,940
201,886
215,827

41,423
35,803
29,862
34,985
29,958

117,409
133,737
148,078
166,900
185,869

147,621
157,204
164,633
187,367
200,804

32,600
26,174
19,723
24,240
18,706

115,021
131,030
144,909
163,127
182,098

11,210
12,335
13,307
14,518
15,023

8,823
9,629
10,138
10,745
11,252

2,387
2,707
3,169
3,773
3,771

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

231,907
253,791
298,865
330,484
323,019

33,369
49,743
89,212
118,395
94,422

198,538
204,048
209,653
212,089
228,597

215,026
236,041
280,128
311,253
302,825

20,877
36,895
76,292
104,677
79,749

194,149
199,146
203,836
206,576
223,076

16,881
17,750
18,737
19,231
20,194

12,492
12,848
12,920
13,717
14,673

4,389
4,902
5,817
5,514
5,521

2005
2006
2007

341,449
366,564
368,135

92,662
89,769
68,310

248,788
276,795
299,825

319,506
342,138
341,337

76,698
71,876
48,983

242,808
270,262
292,354

21,943
24,426
26,799

15,963
17,893
19,327

5,980
6,533
7,471

NOTE: Includes both employer and employee contributions.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

17

Graph E14g. Pension Plan Contributions
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in billions)
$400

$350

$300

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0
1975

1980

1985
Total

1990
Defined Benefit

SOURCE: Table E14, Page 17

18

1995
Defined Contribution

2000

2005

Table E15. Pension Plan Contributions to Plans with Fewer than 100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$6,504
7,156
8,236
9,644
11,542

$1,775
2,295
2,616
3,303
4,323

$4,729
4,861
5,620
6,342
7,219

$6,502
7,136
8,213
9,602
11,495

$1,733
2,278
2,598
3,271
4,290

$4,728
4,858
5,615
6,330
7,205

$3
20
22
43
46

$2
17
18
31
33

$1
3
5
12
13

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

13,545
16,406
16,094
17,357
18,561

5,870
7,163
7,672
7,593
7,850

7,675
9,242
9,422
9,764
10,712

13,490
16,304
16,047
17,288
18,487

5,830
7,079
7,641
7,537
7,788

7,660
9,225
9,406
9,751
10,700

55
101
47
69
74

40
84
31
56
62

15
17
16
13
12

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

21,575
21,543
19,963
18,964
20,995

7,404
5,659
4,296
3,015
2,763

14,171
15,884
15,667
15,948
18,232

21,489
21,475
19,895
18,909
20,961

7,339
5,607
4,239
2,981
2,742

14,150
15,868
15,656
15,929
18,219

86
68
67
54
34

65
52
57
34
21

21
16
11
20
13

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

21,687
21,908
25,214
25,959
23,933

2,608
2,420
2,229
2,451
1,918

19,079
19,488
22,985
23,508
22,015

21,642
21,881
25,185
25,904
23,688

2,590
2,413
2,223
2,418
1,693

19,052
19,468
22,962
23,486
21,995

44
27
29
55
245

18
7
6
33
225

26
21
23
22
20

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

28,150
30,802
34,285
38,180
43,793

2,406
1,943
1,977
1,929
2,156

25,744
28,860
32,309
36,252
41,637

28,111
30,742
34,204
38,124
43,722

2,392
1,911
1,936
1,905
2,132

25,719
28,830
32,268
36,218
41,590

39
60
81
57
71

14
31
41
23
24

25
29
40
33
47

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

44,128
47,067
49,608
49,402
53,143

2,330
3,149
3,793
4,019
4,758

41,799
43,918
45,814
45,383
48,385

44,222
46,986
49,564
49,328
53,058

2,296
3,119
3,783
3,991
4,712

41,927
43,867
45,781
45,337
48,346

94
80
43
75
85

34
30
9
29
46

60
51
33
46
39

2005
2006
2007

57,357
59,503
63,669

5,130
5,462
5,251

52,227
54,040
58,418

57,276
59,435
63,585

5,113
5,449
5,208

52,163
53,985
58,377

81
68
84

17
13
43

64
55
41

NOTE: Includes both employer and employee contributions.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

19

Table E16. Pension Plan Contributions to Plans with 100 or More Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$30,557
35,624
38,825
46,299
49,737

$22,466
26,245
28,580
34,288
36,262

$8,090
9,379
10,244
12,010
13,475

$26,468
31,025
33,718
40,191
42,722

$18,494
21,795
23,631
28,331
29,448

$7,974
9,230
10,087
11,861
13,274

$4,088
4,599
5,107
6,108
7,015

$3,972
4,450
4,950
5,958
6,814

$116
149
157
150
201

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

52,612
58,968
62,408
65,090
72,064

36,756
39,822
40,766
38,720
39,347

15,856
19,147
21,642
26,370
32,717

45,228
50,887
54,273
56,734
63,066

29,694
32,108
33,166
31,140
31,203

15,534
18,779
21,108
25,594
31,863

7,384
8,082
8,135
8,356
8,997

7,062
7,714
7,600
7,580
8,145

322
368
535
776
853

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

73,613
69,960
72,107
72,286
76,925

34,592
27,502
25,497
23,285
21,960

39,021
42,458
46,610
49,000
54,965

64,438
60,715
62,939
62,703
67,088

26,455
19,535
17,754
15,371
13,942

37,983
41,180
45,185
47,332
53,146

9,175
9,245
9,168
9,582
9,837

8,137
7,968
7,743
7,914
8,018

1,038
1,277
1,425
1,668
1,819

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

77,105
89,215
103,581
127,683
120,420

20,418
27,726
32,945
49,672
37,113

56,687
61,489
70,636
78,011
83,307

68,192
80,343
94,497
118,040
110,155

13,119
20,539
25,741
42,103
29,135

55,073
59,804
68,756
75,937
81,020

8,914
8,872
9,084
9,643
10,265

7,299
7,187
7,204
7,569
7,978

1,614
1,684
1,880
2,074
2,287

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

130,682
138,738
143,655
163,705
172,035

39,017
33,860
27,886
33,057
27,803

91,665
104,877
115,770
130,649
144,232

119,510
126,463
130,429
149,244
157,082

30,208
24,263
17,788
22,335
16,574

89,302
102,200
112,641
126,909
140,508

11,172
12,275
13,226
14,462
14,952

8,809
9,598
10,097
10,722
11,228

2,363
2,677
3,128
3,739
3,724

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

187,779
206,724
249,257
281,082
269,876

31,039
46,594
85,419
114,375
89,664

156,739
160,130
163,839
166,707
180,212

170,804
189,055
230,564
261,926
249,768

18,582
33,776
72,508
100,687
75,037

152,222
155,279
158,055
161,239
174,731

16,787
17,670
18,694
19,156
20,109

12,458
12,818
12,910
13,688
14,627

4,329
4,851
5,783
5,468
5,481

2005
2006
2007

284,092
307,061
304,466

87,531
84,307
63,059

196,561
222,755
241,407

262,231
282,703
277,752

71,586
66,427
43,775

190,645
216,276
233,977

21,861
24,358
26,715

15,946
17,880
19,285

5,916
6,478
7,430

NOTE: Includes both employer and employee contributions.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

20

Table E17. Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

Total

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$19,065
20,980
22,950
26,516
28,680

$12,903
13,994
15,249
17,661
18,688

$6,161
6,986
7,702
8,855
9,991

$16,559
18,008
19,957
23,333
25,272

$10,457
11,101
12,353
14,485
15,386

$6,102
6,907
7,604
8,748
9,886

$2,505
2,972
2,993
3,283
3,408

$2,446
2,893
2,896
3,176
3,302

$60
79
98
108
106

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

35,280
44,753
55,307
65,333
79,086

22,148
27,334
33,875
36,976
46,513

13,132
17,420
21,432
28,357
32,573

31,485
40,281
50,219
59,547
72,510

18,524
22,987
28,957
31,507
40,269

12,961
17,294
21,263
28,040
32,241

3,795
4,473
5,088
5,786
6,576

3,624
4,347
4,918
5,469
6,244

171
125
170
317
332

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

101,898
130,483
122,254
118,645
132,049

54,466
67,974
66,241
60,450
66,707

47,432
62,509
56,013
58,195
65,342

94,792
122,613
113,834
109,446
121,750

47,801
60,612
58,345
51,910
57,236

46,991
62,000
55,489
57,535
64,514

7,106
7,870
8,420
9,200
10,299

6,665
7,361
7,896
8,540
9,471

441
579
524
660
828

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

129,405
135,552
152,441
156,305
163,934

66,363
71,503
77,853
79,093
82,625

63,042
64,048
74,588
77,212
81,309

118,227
123,986
139,247
142,471
149,035

56,079
61,081
66,287
66,847
69,417

62,147
62,904
72,960
75,625
79,617

11,178
11,566
13,194
13,834
14,899

10,284
10,422
11,566
12,246
13,207

894
1,144
1,628
1,587
1,692

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

183,025
213,399
232,479
273,115
314,512

85,134
96,914
97,213
111,249
119,375

97,892
116,485
135,266
161,866
195,138

167,249
196,224
214,191
253,270
293,051

70,947
81,436
80,994
93,558
99,937

96,302
114,788
133,197
159,711
193,113

15,777
17,176
18,288
19,845
21,461

14,187
15,478
16,219
17,690
19,437

1,590
1,698
2,069
2,155
2,024

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

341,041
311,627
314,564
301,992
333,327

127,510
129,417
135,824
134,945
140,440

213,531
182,210
178,740
167,048
192,888

317,519
287,024
289,175
275,183
304,389

106,483
107,358
113,511
111,296
115,229

211,036
179,666
175,665
163,888
189,160

23,521
24,603
25,389
26,809
28,938

21,027
22,059
22,314
23,649
25,211

2,495
2,544
3,075
3,160
3,727

2005
2006
2007

354,540
410,959
452,846

136,555
150,619
158,741

217,985
260,340
294,105

323,752
377,700
418,418

110,062
121,863
129,246

213,690
255,837
289,172

30,788
33,259
34,428

26,493
28,756
29,495

4,294
4,503
4,933

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Amounts shown include both benefits paid directly from trust funds and premium payments made by plans to insurance carriers. Amounts exclude
benefits paid directly by insurance carriers.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

21

Graph E17g. Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in billions)
$500
$450
$400
$350
$300
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
$0
1975

1980

1985
Total

1990
Defined Benefit

SOURCE: Table E17, Page 21

22

1995
Defined Contribution

2000

2005

Table E18. Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed From Plans
with Fewer than 100 Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Total
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$2,147
2,407
2,720
3,387
3,614

$886
931
1,043
1,292
1,442

$1,261
1,476
1,678
2,095
2,171

$2,143
2,395
2,683
3,356
3,586

$882
921
1,007
1,271
1,420

$1,261
1,474
1,675
2,085
2,166

$4
12
38
31
28

$4
10
35
21
23

$1
2
2
10
5

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

5,123
6,991
10,736
11,649
14,311

2,076
2,789
5,782
4,213
6,290

3,047
4,203
4,954
7,436
8,021

5,086
6,940
10,679
11,580
14,237

2,044
2,740
5,736
4,149
6,225

3,042
4,200
4,943
7,431
8,012

37
52
56
70
74

32
49
46
65
65

5
2
10
6
9

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

22,493
38,484
34,584
33,718
37,063

8,936
14,730
14,796
12,069
12,369

13,557
24,527
19,788
21,649
24,694

22,403
38,355
34,425
33,657
36,914

8,872
14,604
14,665
12,018
12,252

13,531
23,749
19,760
21,639
24,662

90
129
159
61
149

63
125
131
51
117

26
5
28
10
32

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

34,238
30,601
30,763
29,230
25,900

10,798
9,489
7,929
6,660
4,860

23,439
21,112
22,834
22,570
21,040

34,098
30,532
30,720
29,129
25,743

10,737
9,448
7,912
6,582
4,737

23,361
21,083
22,808
22,547
21,007

139
69
43
100
157

61
41
17
77
124

78
28
26
23
33

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

33,927
36,376
43,066
48,701
55,773

7,100
7,057
7,720
8,362
8,700

26,827
29,320
35,346
40,338
47,073

33,816
36,247
42,879
48,534
55,626

7,035
6,965
7,608
8,300
8,597

26,781
29,282
35,271
40,234
47,030

111
129
187
167
147

65
92
112
62
104

46
37
75
104
43

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

54,992
50,902
46,130
41,928
45,557

6,954
8,557
5,980
5,194
6,073

48,038
42,345
40,151
36,735
39,484

54,828
50,700
46,013
41,772
45,415

6,868
8,447
5,925
5,065
5,980

47,961
42,253
40,088
36,707
39,434

163
201
118
156
143

86
110
55
129
93

77
91
63
28
50

2005
2006
2007

45,786
52,656
59,966

4,181
6,320
7,631

41,605
46,337
52,335

45,564
52,550
59,654

4,130
6,280
7,498

41,434
46,271
52,156

222
106
312

51
40
133

171
66
179

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
NOTE: Amounts shown include both benefits paid directly from trust funds and premium payments made by plans to insurance carriers. Amounts exclude benefits paid directly by insurance
carriers.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

23

Table E19. Pension Plan Benefits Disbursed From Plans
with 100 or More Participants
by type of plan, 1975-2007
(amounts in millions)

Year

Total

Total Plans
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Single Employer Plans 1/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

Total

Total

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Defined
Defined
Benefit
Contribution

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

$16,918
18,573
20,230
23,129
25,066

$12,017
13,063
14,206
16,369
17,246

$4,901
5,510
6,024
6,760
7,820

$14,416
15,613
17,274
19,877
21,686

$9,575
10,180
11,345
13,214
13,966

$4,841
5,433
5,929
6,663
7,720

$2,501
2,960
2,956
3,252
3,380

$2,442
2,883
2,860
3,155
3,279

$60
77
95
97
101

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984

30,157
37,762
44,571
55,693
64,775

20,072
24,545
28,093
32,763
40,223

10,085
13,217
16,478
22,920
24,552

26,399
33,341
39,540
47,967
58,273

16,480
20,247
23,221
27,358
34,044

9,919
13,094
16,319
20,609
24,229

3,758
4,421
5,032
5,715
6,502

3,592
4,298
4,872
5,404
6,179

166
123
160
311
322

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

79,405
91,999
87,680
84,926
94,987

45,530
53,244
51,445
48,381
54,339

33,875
38,754
36,225
36,546
40,648

72,389
84,258
79,409
75,787
84,836

38,929
46,008
43,680
39,892
44,984

33,460
38,250
35,729
35,896
39,852

7,016
7,741
8,262
9,139
10,151

6,602
7,236
7,765
8,489
9,355

415
504
496
650
796

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994

95,167
104,951
121,678
127,076
138,034

55,564
62,014
69,924
72,433
77,764

39,603
42,937
51,755
54,643
60,269

84,128
93,454
108,527
113,342
123,291

45,342
51,633
58,374
60,264
64,681

38,786
41,821
50,153
53,078
58,611

11,039
11,497
13,151
13,734
14,742

10,222
10,381
11,549
12,169
13,084

816
1,116
1,602
1,565
1,659

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

149,099
177,023
189,413
224,414
258,739

78,034
89,858
89,493
102,886
110,674

71,065
87,166
99,920
121,528
148,065

133,433
159,976
171,312
204,736
237,425

63,912
74,471
73,386
85,258
91,341

69,521
85,505
97,926
119,477
146,084

15,666
17,047
18,101
19,678
21,314

14,122
15,386
16,107
17,628
19,334

1,544
1,660
1,994
2,050
1,980

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

286,049
260,726
268,434
260,064
287,770

120,556
120,860
129,845
129,751
134,366

165,493
139,865
138,589
130,313
153,403

262,691
236,324
243,163
233,411
258,974

99,615
98,911
107,586
106,231
109,249

163,076
137,413
135,576
127,181
149,726

23,358
24,402
25,271
26,653
28,795

20,940
21,949
22,259
23,520
25,118

2,418
2,453
3,012
3,132
3,678

2005
2006
2007

308,754
358,303
392,880

132,374
144,300
151,110

176,380
214,003
241,770

278,188
325,149
358,764

105,931
115,583
121,748

172,257
209,566
237,016

30,566
33,153
34,116

26,443
28,716
29,362

4,123
4,437
4,754

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year.
Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
NOTE: Amounts shown include both benefits paid directly from trust funds and premium payments made by plans to insurance carriers. Amounts exclude benefits paid directly by insurance
carriers.
1/ Includes single employer plans, plans of controlled groups of corporations, and multiple-employer noncollectively bargained plans.
2/ Includes multiemployer plans and multiple-employer collectively bargained plans.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

24

Table E20. Number of 401(k) Type Plans, Participants, Assets,
Contributions, and Benefit Payments, 1984-2007
Year

Number of Plans

Assets
(millions)

Active Participants
(thousands)

Contributions
(millions)

Benefits
(millions)

1984
1985
1986
1987
1988

17,303
29,869
37,420
45,054
68,121

7,526
10,315
11,528
13,091
15,151

$91,754
143,939
182,784
215,477
276,995

$16,291
24,322
29,226
33,185
39,412

$10,617
16,399
22,098
22,215
25,235

1989
1990
1991
1992
1993

83,301
97,614
111,394
139,704
154,527

17,271
19,466
19,039
22,293
20,015

357,015
384,854
440,259
552,959
616,316

46,081
48,998
51,533
64,345
69,322

30,875
32,028
32,734
43,166
44,206

1994
1995
1996
1997
1998

174,945
200,813
230,808
265,251
300,593

25,062
27,759
30,643
33,633
36,846

674,681
863,918
1,061,493
1,264,168
1,540,975

75,878
87,416
103,973
115,673
134,659

50,659
62,163
78,481
93,070
120,693

1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

335,121
348,053
366,568
388,204
403,638

38,619
39,847
41,962
43,158
43,624

1,790,256
1,724,549
1,682,218
1,573,083
1,922,021

151,966
169,238
174,389
181,735
186,740

145,979
172,211
147,645
146,999
141,443

2004
2004r 1/
2005
2006
2007

418,553

44,407
53,100
54,623
58,351
59,566

2,188,733

203,867

166,731

2,395,792
2,768,242
2,981,522

223,533
251,233
273,235

189,822
229,217
262,108

436,207
465,653
490,917

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin,
in that calendar year. Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of active participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details.
1/ The row 2004r shows active participants for 2004 computed using the revised definition summarized in the note below.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

25

600,000

60

500,000

50

400,000

40

300,000

30

200,000

20

100,000

10

0

0
1984

1989

1994
Plans

1999

2004

Active Participants

NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The higher point for 2004 represents the unadjusted
participant count.
SOURCE: Table E20, Page 25

26

Active Participants (millions)

Plans

Graph E20g1. Number of 401(k) Type Plans and Active Participants
1984-2007

Graph E20g2. Assets, Contributions, and Benefit Payments of 401(k) Type Plans
1984-2007
(amounts in trillions)
$3.0

$2.5

$2.0

$1.5

$1.0

$0.5

$0.0
1984

1989

1994
Assets

1999

Contributions

SOURCE: Table E20, Page 25

27

Benefits

2004

Table E21. Aggregate Rates of Return Earned
by Private Pension Plans with 100 or More Participants, 1988-2007
Total Plans

Year

Total

Single Employer Plans

Defined

Defined

Benefit

Contribution

Total

Multiemployer Plans

Defined

Defined

Benefit

Contribution

Total

Defined

Defined

Benefit

Contribution

Total
401(k)

Total ESOP

1988
1989
1990
1991
1992

12.4
11.2
3.5
17.5
8.8

12.1
12.1
3.5
18.8
8.3

13.1
9.4
3.5
15.1
9.8

12.6
11.9
3.1
17.8
8.8

12.2
13.2
2.8
19.6
8.0

13.2
9.7
3.4
15.2
9.8

11.6
6.0
6.8
14.9
9.3

11.8
6.4
6.7
15.2
9.4

9.5
1.8
7.4
12.0
8.7

n/a
n/a
3.6
14.7
10.3

n/a
n/a
-1.3
14.7
13.4

1993
1994 1/
1995
1996
1997

10.2
2.9
20.8
14.9
17.9

10.5
2.2
21.4
14.8
16.8

9.8
3.8
20.0
15.0
19.3

10.6
2.7
21.0
15.0
18.0

11.1
1.8
21.6
14.9
16.6

9.9
3.8
20.3
15.2
19.5

7.4
4.4
19.5
13.8
17.1

7.5
4.5
20.5
14.3
17.5

6.2
3.9
11.8
9.6
13.6

9.8
3.7
20.5
14.8
19.4

12.8
4.1
22.9
18.4
23.8

1998
1999
2000
2001
2002

14.9
13.2
-1.7
-5.1
-9.3

14.2
13.8
-0.4
-4.3
-7.9

15.8
12.5
-3.0
-6.0
-10.6

15.3
13.6
-1.9
-5.5
-9.8

14.6
14.6
-0.6
-4.8
-8.5

15.9
12.6
-3.1
-6.2
-10.9

11.9
10.2
0.4
-2.1
-5.4

12.2
10.5
0.4
-2.2
-5.6

9.6
7.5
0.7
-1.2
-3.8

12.0
12.8
-3.8
-6.4
-11.4

17.0
10.3
-1.3
-4.8
-10.2

2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

18.2
11.0
7.5
12.4
8.5

18.5
11.7
8.6
12.5
9.5

17.9
10.3
6.5
12.4
7.6

19.1
11.0
7.6
12.6
8.5

20.3
11.7
8.9
12.8
9.6

18.2
10.4
6.6
12.5
7.6

10.8
11.1
7.2
10.8
8.7

11.0
11.5
7.4
11.2
8.8

9.8
8.4
6.2
8.7
8.2

18.5
10.3
6.3
12.4
7.5

19.0
11.1
6.2
14.0
5.3

9.2
6.6
11.5
9.5

9.6
7.3
12.1
10.2

8.8
5.9
10.9
8.8

9.3
6.6
11.7
9.5

9.7
7.5
12.6
10.4

8.9
5.9
11.0
8.8

8.6
6.2
9.7
8.9

8.8
6.3
10.0
9.1

6.8
5.3
8.2
7.7

n/a
5.4
10.9
8.7

n/a
6.3
11.0
8.4

7.8
8.7
3.7
2.1

7.6
8.3
3.5
1.7

8.0
9.2
4.0
2.5

8.0
9.1
4.1
2.2

8.0
8.9
4.1
1.7

8.2
9.3
4.1
2.6

5.9
6.0
1.5
1.5

6.2
6.2
1.6
1.6

4.4
4.7
1.2
1.1

n/a
9.2
4.3
2.6

n/a
9.1
5.1
3.9

Geo. mean 2/

1988-2007
1998-2007
2003-2007
2005-2007
Std. deviation 3/

1988-2007
1998-2007
2003-2007
2005-2007

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. Please
see Appendix A for more details.
Note: Rates of return have been derived directly from tables C4-C11 and from similar published summary tables for prior years. The rate of return formula is the same as that described in Chapter
12 of the 1989 DOL volume entitled "Trends in Pensions," except that the return formula used here refines the treatment of receivables. The receivable line item called "income receivables,"
which first appeared on the 1988 form, is not deducted from total assets because such assets may produce investment income. The formula makes no adjustment for reporting periods other than
one year, which are reported on approximately 3 percent of Form 5500 filings. Because the Form 5500 does not provide information on the timing of cash flows during the year, a time weighted
rate of return cannot be derived. The formula used assumes that all cash flows occur in the middle of the plan's reporting period. The cash flow for which this assumption is most uncertain is
contributions. The overall 1994 rate of return reported as 2.9 percent could be as low as 2.80 percent or as high as 2.98 percent depending on the assumption regarding the timing of
contributions during the year. The overall 1995 rate of return reported as 20.8 percent could be as low as 20.15 percent or as high as 21.53 percent.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ The 1994 row, for example, represents all plan years that began in 1994. About 77 percent of these plan years began on January 1, 1994.
2/ The geometric mean is computed by adding one to the aggregate rate of return for each of the n years, taking the product of the sums, and taking the nth root of the product, and subtracting
3/ Standard deviation formula uses a denominator definition of n, not n-1.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

28

Table E22. Aggregate Investment Perfomance
of Private Pension Plans with 100 or More Participants, 1988-2007
(dollar amounts in millions)

Year

Average
Investable 1/
Assets

Investment
Income 2/

Appreciation
Realized

Unrealized

Total

Total DFE
Income 3/

Total
Return on
Invest. 4/

Total
Rate of
Return 5/

Growth of
Investable
Assets 6/

1988
1989
1990
1991
1992

1,135,950
1,268,455
1,395,262
1,411,538
1,658,785

47,509
12,484
49,855
49,457
45,325

13,609
23,197
1,995
15,435
9,126

30,597
38,963
-16,810
73,766
30,378

44,206
62,160
-14,815
89,201
39,504

49,613
67,305
13,866
108,288
61,706

141,328
141,949
48,906
246,946
146,535

12.4
11.2
3.5
17.5
8.8

1.5
11.7
10.0
1.2
17.5

1993
1994
1995
1996
1997

1,808,728
1,961,820
1,975,258
2,383,830
2,699,052

45,340
43,012
48,331
50,844
53,862

15,142
1,871
32,145
27,349
51,788

30,099
-10,567
120,317
87,761
122,825

45,241
-8,696
152,462
115,110
174,613

93,800
22,283
210,447
189,439
254,663

184,381
56,599
411,240
355,393
483,138

10.2
2.9
20.8
14.9
17.9

9.0
8.5
0.7
20.7
13.2

1998
1999
2000
2001
2002

3,108,337
3,491,526
3,838,358
3,700,522
3,500,968

51,457
53,347
54,407
41,840
37,589

34,043
33,283
22,270
-13,301
-25,116

106,324
73,494
-55,114
-66,097
-100,699

140,367
106,777
-32,844
-79,398
-125,815

271,865
300,702
-85,899
-152,829
-236,574

463,689
460,826
-64,336
-190,387
-324,800

14.9
13.2
-1.7
-5.1
-9.3

15.2
12.3
9.9
-3.6
-5.4

2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

3,174,478
3,736,633
4,155,349
4,484,389
5,019,244

35,218
36,202
40,654
50,063
54,646

17,466
26,835
3,450
27,512
34,829

131,616
78,971
55,075
96,412
40,992

149,082
105,806
58,525
123,924
75,821

392,454
269,253
214,458
383,956
295,435

576,754
411,261
313,637
557,943
425,902

18.2
11.0
7.5
12.4
8.5

-9.3
17.7
11.2
7.9
11.9

9.2
6.6

7.8
6.4

Geo. mean /7
1988-2007
1998-2007

NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. Please see
Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total Participants.
1/ Average of beginning-of-year and end-of-year levels of all assets except contributions receivable and value of buildings and other property used in plan operations minus one-half of total return.
2/ Sum of interest, dividends, rents, and (for years 1985-87) royalties.
3/ The DFE category includes direct filing entities (common/collective trusts, master trusts, 103-12 investment entities, and pooled separate accounts) and funds invested through registered investment
companies and insurance company general accounts .
4/ Sum of investment income, total appreciation, and total DFE income.
5/ Total return as a percentage of average investable assets. See note for previous table.
6/ Percentage increase in average investable assets (column 1) from previous year to current year.
7/ The geometric mean is computed by adding one to the rate for each of the n years, taking the product of the sums, taking the nth root of the product, and subtracting one.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

29

Table E23. Aggregate Rates of Return Earned
by Employee Stock OwnershipPlans and 401(k) Plans
with 100 or More Participants, 1993-2007
Employee Stock Ownership Plans
Nonleveraged
Leveraged

Year

401(k)

1993
1994
1995
1996
1997

9.8
3.7
20.5
14.8
19.4

12.8
4.1
22.9
18.4
23.8

10.6
4.4
17.5
18.2
24.7

14.3
4.0
24.7
18.5
23.5

1998
1999
2000
2001
2002

12.0
12.8
-3.8
-6.4
-11.4

17.0
10.3
-1.3
-4.8
-10.2

18.6
11.2
-3.2
-6.0
-12.8

16.5
9.6
0.8
-3.5
-6.8

2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

18.5
10.3
6.3
12.4
7.5

19.0
11.1
6.2
14.0
5.3

19.9
10.9
6.3
13.5
4.9

17.5
11.4
6.0
15.2
6.5

8.0
5.4
10.9
8.7

9.5
6.3
11.0
8.4

8.8
5.8
11.0
8.2

10.2
7.0
11.2
9.2

9.1
9.2
4.3
2.6

9.7
9.1
5.1
3.9

10.1
10.2
5.4
3.8

9.0
8.0
4.6
4.2

Geometric mean 1/
1993-2007
1998-2007
2003-2007
2005-2007
Std. deviation 2/
1993-2007
1998-2007
2003-2007
2005-2007

Total

NOTE: In the previous version of this table, the rates of return for Employee Stock Ownership Plans between 2000 and 2004 were calculated incorrectly. This error has
been corrected.
NOTE: Beginning with the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in general end, rather than begin, in that
calendar year. Please see Appendix A for more details.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details. The term "Participants" refers to Total
Participants.
1/ Computed by adding one to the aggregate rate of return for each of the n years, taking the product of the sums, and taking the nth root of the product, and subtracting one.
2/ Standard deviation formula uses a denominator definition of n, not n-1.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor

30

TABLE E24. Number of 401(k) Type Plans and Assets
by extent of participant direction of investments, 1999-2007

Total
Year
Number of
Plans 2/
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

335,121
348,053
366,568
388,204
403,638
418,553
436,207
465,653
490,917

Total
Assets
(millions)
1,790,256
1,724,549
1,682,218
1,573,083
1,922,021
2,188,733
2,395,792
2,768,242
2,981,522

Participant Directs All
Investments
Number of
Plans 2/
249,778
276,098
297,927
317,394
334,121
349,158
366,807
394,729
418,491

Total
Assets
(millions)
1,045,465
1,072,245
1,046,211
986,915
1,240,002
1,449,725
1,628,580
1,952,161
2,195,732

1/ Generally, the portion would consist of employee contributions.
2/ Excludes plans covering only one participant.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings for plan years ending in 1999-2007.

31

Participant Directs
Investment of Portion
Of Assets 1/
Total
Number of
Assets
Plans 2/
(millions)
19,368
19,475
19,215
20,537
20,813
20,799
20,309
20,272
19,999

473,418
494,478
475,633
446,551
524,762
565,447
576,020
627,705
597,025

Participant Does
Not Direct Any
Investments
Total
Number of
Assets
Plans 2/
(millions)
65,975
52,480
49,426
50,273
48,703
48,596
49,091
50,652
52,428

271,374
157,827
160,373
139,618
157,257
173,561
191,191
188,377
188,766

TABLE E25. Number of Total and Active Participants in 401(k) Type plans
by extent of participant direction of investments, 1999-2007
(thousands)
Participant Directs All
Investments

Total
Year

Total
Active
Total
Active
Participants Participants Participants Participants
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

46,203
48,348
51,814
53,296
53,842
54,892
65,652
70,295
72,178

38,619
39,847
41,962
43,158
43,624
44,407
54,623
58,351
59,566

31,487
35,288
38,161
39,732
41,116
42,001
51,553
55,816
58,822

26,571
29,330
31,115
32,379
33,679
34,197
43,224
46,674
48,958

Participant Directs
Participant Does
Investment of Portion
Not Direct Any
Of Assets 1/
Investments
Total
Active
Total
Active
Participants Participants Participants Participants
8,006
8,546
9,369
9,518
9,139
9,249
10,456
10,739
9,820

6,484
6,810
7,418
7,506
7,091
7,273
8,480
8,693
7,817

6,710
4,515
4,285
4,046
3,588
3,641
3,643
3,740
3,536

NOTE: Beginning in 2005 the number of participants reported is no longer adjusted. Please see Appendix B for more details.
NOTE: Total participants include active, retired, and separated vested participants not yet in pay status. The number of participants also includes double
counting of workers in more than one plan.
Active participants include any workers currently in employment covered by a plan and who are earning or retaining credited service
under a plan. This category includes any individuals who are eligible to elect to have the employer make payments to a Code section 401(k) plan.
Active Participants also include nonvested former employees who have not yet incurred a break in service.
1/ Generally, the portion would consist of employee contributions.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings for plan years ending in 1999-2007.

32

5,564
3,707
3,429
3,272
2,854
2,937
2,920
2,983
2,791

TABLE E26. Contributions and Benefits of 401(k) Type Plans
by extent of participant direction of investments, 1999-2007
Participant Directs
Participant Does
Investment of Portion
Not Direct Any
Of Assets 1/
Investments
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
Contributions
Benefits
Contributions
Benefits
Contributions
Benefits
Contributions
Benefits
(millions) 2/ (millions) 3/ (millions) 2/ (millions) 3/ (millions) 2/ (millions) 3/ (millions) 2/ (millions) 3/
Participant Directs All
Investments

Total

Year

1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

153,226
169,238
174,389
181,735
186,740
203,867
223,533
251,233
270,651

147,389
172,211
147,645
146,999
141,443
166,731
189,822
229,217
259,174

101,445
119,867
125,203
130,678
136,313
151,469
168,593
195,871
216,415

87,155
107,518
93,642
93,608
94,537
111,459
130,823
162,533
191,103

28,245
34,052
34,414
37,302
37,651
39,274
39,402
41,307
39,933

37,551
49,041
41,186
42,016
37,256
43,556
46,472
53,235
53,229

1/ Generally, the portion would consist of employee contributions.
2/ Includes both employer and employee contributions.
3/ Amounts shown include both benefits paid directly from trust funds and premium payments made by plans to insurance carriers.
SOURCE: Form 5500 filings for plan years ending in 1999-2007.

33

23,536
15,319
14,773
13,756
12,776
13,124
15,537
14,055
14,303

22,683
15,651
12,817
11,375
9,651
11,716
12,527
13,450
14,842

Appendix A: Changes for the 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin and 2002 Form 5500 Research File –
Timing Concepts
Beginning with this 2002 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the data for a given calendar year reflects filings for plan years that in
general end, rather than begin, in that calendar year. In terms of the 2002 Research File and Bulletin, this means that plans ending in
the range 1/1/2002 to 12/31/2002 have been selected, rather than plans ending in the range 12/31/2002 to 12/30/2003. The change in
definition does not affect calendar year filers (i.e. plans beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31), which make up approximately 80% of
all filers for a given plan year. The chart below summarizes the number of plans with plan end dates of 12/31/2001, dates ending in
each month of 2002 (except for the single day 12/31/2002), and then separately 12/31/2002. The 2001 Bulletin and Research File with
the old timing definition used data corresponding to all but the right-most bar of the chart. The 2002 Bulletin and Research Files with
the new timing definition use data corresponding to all but the left-most bar – that is, plans ending in calendar year 2002.

Thousands

Chart 1: Number of Pension Filings, by Plan-Year-Ending Date
Data for 2001 and 2002 Research Files
700

600

500

Filings

400
BUL01 Filings
BUL02 Filings
300

200

100

0
D 31
2001

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

2002
Plan Year Ending Date

34

S

O

N

D

D31

Appendix B: Changes for the 2005 Private Pension Plan Bulletin and 2005 Form 5500 Research File –
Active Participants and Weights
Two significant changes have been made in the methodology used to create the 2005 Form 5500 Research File and Private
Pension Plan Bulletin. These changes have been necessitated by two new restrictions on the data received by the Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA). First, beginning in 2005, IRS Schedule T is no longer a required schedule. Information from this
schedule was previously used to adjust the number of “active participants” to exclude 401(k)-eligible workers who did not elect to
receive employer contributions and non-vested, separated employees who had not incurred a break in service. The loss of information
from this schedule has prompted EBSA to discontinue its adjustment of “active participants” in favor of accepting the definition of
active participant provided in the instructions to the Form 5500. This change also affects the number of “total participants” because
the number of individuals previously excluded from “active participants” had also been excluded from “total participants.” Second, at
the time the 2005 Private Pension Plan Bulletin was completed, data from plan year 2005 was the most current, complete dataset
available. Previously, the Bulletin relied on data from the year following the year in question. While some filers have already filed a
Form 5500 for plan year 2006, these filings are currently far from complete. This change affects the methodology used in computing
weights on the Research File. These changes are described in detail in the following sections.

Active Participants
Prior to the 2005 Private Pension Plan Bulletin, the count of active participants had been adjusted from the number of active
participants that was actually reported using line 4c(5) from Schedule T and line 7g from Form 5500. 1 The figure was adjusted to
exclude two groups of individuals:
1. Individuals eligible to participate in a 401(k) plan who had not elected to have their employers make contributions and
2. Non-vested former employees who had not (at the time the Form 5500s were submitted) incurred the break in service period
established by their plan.
1

For a more detailed explanation of the methodology used for creating counts of “active participants” prior to the 2005 Bulletin, please see the Form 5500
Research File User Guide on the Form 5500 Research File CD-ROMs distributed by the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

35

The purpose for this adjustment was to provide through the Private Pension Plan Bulletin a more relevant statistic for research
purposes. While legally individuals included in the two groups defined above are “active” participants, they are not active in a more
intuitive sense; these individuals are not contributing and are not entitled to receive benefits. In the case of (1.), these individuals do
not have account balances and are not contributing or receiving contributions from their employers, but are merely qualified to
participate. In the case of (2.), these individuals have not yet qualified to receive benefits under the plan and only may do so by
continuing employment with the particular organization and being in service for the necessary amount of time to become vested. In a
purely economic sense and for research purposes, individuals in these groups should not be included in the count of active
participants.
Because the IRS Schedule T filing is no longer mandatory, EBSA cannot continue to produce the above adjustments. Instead, as
noted in the introduction, beginning with the 2005 Bulletin the definition of “active participants” corresponds directly to the definition
on page 16 of the 2005 Instructions for Form 5500 (http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/2005-5500inst.pdf). That is,
Active participants include any individuals who are currently in employment covered by a plan and who are earning or
retaining credited service under a plan. This category includes any individuals who are eligible to elect to have the
employer make payments to a Code section 401(k) qualified cash or deferred arrangement. Active participants also
include any nonvested individuals who are earning or retaining credited service under a plan. This category does not
include (a) nonvested former employees who have incurred the break in service period specified in the plan or (b)
former employees who have received a “cash-out” distribution or deemed distribution of their entire nonforfeitable
accrued benefit.

To illustrate the effect this definitional change has on the counts of active participants, the following tables and graphs detail
the number of participants by types of plans using the previous and current definitions for plan years 2001-2004.

36

Table 1. The First Adjustment to Active Participants
in Defined Contribution Plans
by year, 2001-2004
(numbers in thousands)

Year
2001
2002
2003
2004

Reported
Actives
61,368
61,790
60,554
61,320

Total Plans
Adjusted
Actives
51,566
51,845
50,793
51,287

Actives
Excluded
9,802
9,945
9,761
10,033

Single Employer Plans 1/
Adjusted
Actives
Reported
Actives
Actives
Excluded
59,041
49,316
9,725
58,831
48,976
9,855
57,610
47,944
9,666
58,343
48,392
9,951

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Adjusted
Actives
Reported
Actives
Actives
Excluded
2,326
2,250
76
2,959
2,868
91
2,944
2,849
95
2,978
2,895
83

Chart 1. The First Adjustment to Active Participants
in Defined Contribution Plans
by year, 2001-2004
(numbers in thousands)

70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000

Reported Actives

30,000

Adjusted Actives

20,000
10,000
0
2001

2002

2003
Year

37

2004

Table 2. The Adjustment to Active Participants
in Defined Benefit Plans
by year, 2001-2004
(numbers in thousands)

Year

Current
Method
22,235
21,921
21,535
20,797

2001
2002
2003
2004

Total Plans
Previous
Method
22,089
21,633
21,304
20,586

Difference
146
288
231
211

Single Employer Plans 1/
Previous
Current
Difference
Method
Method
17,251
17,105
146
17,218
16,930
288
16,845
16,613
232
16,168
15,957
211

Multiemployer Plans 2/
Previous
Current
Difference
Method
Method
4,984
4,984
0
4,703
4,703
0
4,691
4,691
0
4,629
4,629
0

Chart 2. The Adjustment to Active Participants
in Defined Benefit Plans
by year, 2001-2004
(numbers in thousands)

25,000
20,000
15,000

Current Method
Previous Method

10,000
5,000
0
2001

2002

2003
Year

38

2004

Weights
Weights for the Pension Plan Bulletin are calculated by defining the universe of plans, stratifying plans by size and type,
creating a sample of plans, and then dividing the number of plans in the universe by the number of plans in the sample for each
stratum. 3 Prior to the 2005 Bulletin, the number of plans in the universe was adjusted to account for “missing” plans: plans which filed
in previous and later year samples, but not in that current plan year. The size of the universe was estimated by adding the number of
current-year filers to an estimate of the number of missing plans derived using this “straddle” method. Since all large plans are
included on the Research File, the weights for large DB and large DC plans (more than 100 participants) are close to 1.0. Since only a
5% sample of small plans is included on the Research File, the weights for small DB and small DC plans (less than 100 participants)
are near 20.0.
As mentioned above, at the time the 2005 Private Pension Plan Bulletin was completed, filings from plan year 2006 were far
from complete. This will continue to be the case in subsequent publications of the Bulletin. Therefore, the “straddling” method
explained above can no longer be used for constructing the universe of plans for a given year. The new method used for calculating
the universe is to find all the plans in the previous year that did not indicate they were terminating. These plans should presumably be
found in the given year’s sample. Initially, this method produced weights that were significantly higher than the weights historically
used on the Research File. Therefore, an adjustment to the weights produced was deemed necessary. To do so, the new method for
calculating weights was applied to the 2002-2004 Research Files. For each stratum in each file, the multiplicative factors by which
weights calculated using the new method would have to be adjusted to equal weights actually used in prior years were derived. The
arithmetic average of these adjustment factors for each stratum was then applied to the weights calculated for the given year, arriving
at an estimate of what weight derived using the “straddle” method would have been.

3

For a more detailed explanation of the methodology for adding weights to the Research File, please see the Form 5500 Research File User Guide on the Form
5500 Research File CD-ROMs distributed by the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

39

Appendix C: Notes on Changes Between Versions of the 2007 Private Pension Plan Bulletin Historical Tables
and Graphs
Version 1.1: Typographical errors in the Table of Contents were corrected, and Appendix A and Appendix B were added for Version
1.1. The inclusion of the new sections required the footnotes in the tables and graphs be updated.
Version 1.2: The date was updated to March 2010 and the version to Version 1.2.
Version 1.3: Appendix B was reformatted; Appendix C was added; and a SAS programming error in tables and graphs E14 – E20,
E14g, E17g, and E20g2 was corrected for Version 1.3. Contributions and benefits paid for 2006 and 2007 had been tabulated using a
stock weight (S_WGT) instead of a flow weight (F_WGT). The need for two types of weights arises because some pension plans
legitimately file more than one Form 5500 for a given year. Therefore, a stock weight is given to only one of the filings for use in
tabulating fields such as assets and participants. A flow weight is attached to all filings for use in tabulating cash flow fields such as
contributions and benefits. These two weights are described in more detail in the Form 5500 User Guide.

40