Are 401(k) Plans Replacing Other Employer-Provided Pensions? Evidence from Panel Data

This paper examines whether sponsors of traditional defined benefit (DB) plans are replacing them with 401(k) or other defined contribution (DC) plans. I compare pension plan offerings by sponsors of a DB plan in 1985 with their offerings in 1992 using Form 5500 filings. I find that 401(k) and other...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of human resources 1999-04, Vol.34 (2), p.346-368
Main Author: Papke, Leslie E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Defined benefit pension plan
Defined benefit plans
Descriptive statistics
Economic conditions
Economic reform
Employee pension plans
Employees
Employers
Employment
Government policy
Human resources
Pension funds
Pension plans
Pension schemes
Pensions
Standard error
Statistical median
U.S.A
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Summary:This paper examines whether sponsors of traditional defined benefit (DB) plans are replacing them with 401(k) or other defined contribution (DC) plans. I compare pension plan offerings by sponsors of a DB plan in 1985 with their offerings in 1992 using Form 5500 filings. I find that 401(k) and other DC plans are substituting for terminated DB plans and that offering a DC plan of any type increases the probability of a DB termination. Thus, it appears that, at the sponsor level, many of the new 401(k) plans are not avenues for net saving but are replacements for the more traditional pension forms.
ISSN:0022-166X
1548-8004
DOI:10.2307/146349