U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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New Definitions of Employee Access to Paid Sick Leave and Retirement Benefits

in the National Compensation Survey

by Natalie Kramer and Alan Zilberman

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: December 23, 2008

The National Compensation Survey (NCS) has recently broadened its definitions of access to sick leave, retirement benefits,

and, within the category of retirement benefits, defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans. The new definitions of

access have been applied in the calculation of sick leave and retirement benefits, resulting in new estimates for these

variables.

Introduction

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been collecting and publishing data on employee benefits for many years. The Employee

Benefits Survey (EBS) program, which conducted surveys from 1979 through 1998, published data on workers participation

in various employee benefit plans as well as estimates on plan provisions.1 The National Compensation Survey (NCS)

program, which provides a comprehensive set of measures on compensation, including estimates on employer costs for

employee earnings and benefits, as well as occupational earnings, began publishing data on employee benefits in 1999.

Over the intervening years, the NCS has incorporated elements of various predecessor surveys and drawn upon decades of

experience to expand the scope and richness of the benefits data it publishes. The NCS introduced estimates on employee 

access to several types of benefits data with the publication of National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in Private

Industry in the United States, March 2003.2

The NCS has recently broadened its definitions of access to sick leave, retirement benefits, and, within the category of

retirement benefits, defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans. The new definitions of access have been applied in

the calculation of sick leave and retirement benefits, resulting in new estimates for these variables. The definition of

employee participation (applicable to retirement plans, not paid sick leave) remains unchanged. Take-up rates are the ratio of

the number of workers who participate in a benefit to the number of workers with access to the benefit. Take-up rates are

affected by the change in access estimates purely due to this mathematical relationship, resulting in new take-up rate

estimates.3 Standard errors are available for the original and new access and take-up rate estimates for 2008; however, they

are not available for original or new estimates from the survey years 2003 through 2007.

This article describes how the new, broader definitions of access differ from the original definitions, and it introduces the new

BLS estimates of access (and their standard errors, where available). The article also gives an overview of the differences

between the new estimates and those published previously.

Paid Sick Leave

Many employers provide formal sick leave plans, offering a certain number of hours or days of paid sick leave per year, while

other employers offer informal plans--for example, those in which paid time off due to health-related concerns is granted by

the employer on a case-by-case basis. The previously published estimates of access to paid sick leave in the NCS benefits

publications for 2004-074 reflect the percentage of workers in an occupation5 for which the employer incurred a cost for sick

leave, typically within the 12 months prior to data collection.6 The new estimates of access to paid sick leave reflect the

percentage of workers in an occupation who were offered paid sick leave, regardless of whether the employer had incurred a

cost for the benefit.
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The following example illustrates the difference between the former and new definitions of access to paid sick leave: • At Establishment A, there are 10 janitors with access to paid sick leave, and 3 of them used several days of sick leave

over the past year, while the other 7 janitors used no sick leave. Under the former and new definitions, all 10 janitors

would be counted as having access. • In Establishment B, 12 janitors have access to paid sick leave, but none of the 12 took sick leave within the past year.

Under the former definition, none would be considered to have access; under the new definition, all would be

considered to have access.

Table 1 shows a side-by-side comparison of the previously published estimates of access to paid sick leave, which are based

on the former definition of access, and the new estimates, which are based on the new definition of access, for the years

2004-07.

Table 1. Paid sick leave(1): Access, by ownership, National Compensation Survey, 2004-2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Private industry

State and

local

government

March 2004 

(2)

March 2005 

(3)

March 2006 

(4)

March 2007 

(5)

September

2007 (6)

Old New Old New Old New Old New Old New

All workers 59 60 58 59 57 58 57 60 87 89

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 74 75 74 75 72 73

Blue-collar occupations 47 48 46 46 45 46

Service occupations 37 37 36 37 38 39

Management, professional, and related 80 83 88 90

Professional and related 88 90

Teachers 86 88

Primary, secondary, and special education

school teachers 90 93

Service 39 41 82 85

Protective service 87 90

Sales and office 63 66 87 90

Office and administrative support 88 91

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 44 45

Production, transportation, and material moving 47 50

Full time 70 70 69 70 68 69 68 70 95 98

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans

where workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) The March 2004 estimates were originally published in Summary 04-04, table 8, p. 12, in November 2004.

(3) The March 2005 estimates were originally published in Summary 05-01, table 18, p. 22, in August 2005.

(4) The March 2006 estimates were originally published in Summary 06-05, table 19, p. 24, in August 2006.

(5) The March 2007 estimates were originally published in Summary 07-05, table 19, p. 28, in August 2007.

(6) The September 2007 estimates were originally published in Summary 08-02, table 18, p. 24, in March 2008.

(7) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

(8) This category changed from service producing to service providing as part of the transition from SIC to NAICS.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Characteristics

Private industry

State and

local

government

March 2004 

(2)

March 2005 

(3)

March 2006 

(4)

March 2007 

(5)

September

2007 (6)

Old New Old New Old New Old New Old New

Part time 24 26 23 25 22 24 23 25 39 41

Union 59 61 61 62 59 60 61 64 94 97

Nonunion 59 60 58 59 57 58 57 59 81 83

Average wage less than $15 per hour (7) 48 48 47 47 46 46 44 47 74 77

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (7) 75 76 75 75 73 74 72 75 92 94

Average wage less than $24 per hour (7) 82 84

Average wage $24 per hour or higher (7) 93 95

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 49 50 49 49 48 49 47 49

Service-producing (8) 62 63 61 62 60 61

Service-providing (8) 60 62

Education and health services 88 90

Educational services 87 90

Elementary and secondary schools 88 90

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 86 88

Health care and social assistance 89 90

Hospitals 92 93

Public administration 86 89

1 to 99 workers 50 51 49 50 48 49 48 51 75 79

1 to 49 workers 70 72

50 to 99 workers 83 87

100 or more workers 69 70 70 70 69 69 67 69 88 91

100 to 499 workers 85 87

500 or more workers 90 92

State government 92 94

Local government 85 87

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 60 61 60 61 59 60 58 61

Nonmetropolitan areas 52 52 50 50 50 50 50 52

New England 66 66 66 66 67 67 65 66

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans

where workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) The March 2004 estimates were originally published in Summary 04-04, table 8, p. 12, in November 2004.

(3) The March 2005 estimates were originally published in Summary 05-01, table 18, p. 22, in August 2005.

(4) The March 2006 estimates were originally published in Summary 06-05, table 19, p. 24, in August 2006.

(5) The March 2007 estimates were originally published in Summary 07-05, table 19, p. 28, in August 2007.

(6) The September 2007 estimates were originally published in Summary 08-02, table 18, p. 24, in March 2008.

(7) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

(8) This category changed from service producing to service providing as part of the transition from SIC to NAICS.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Characteristics

Private industry State and local

government

March 2004 

(2)

March 2005 

(3)

March 2006 

(4)

March 2007 

(5)

September

2007 (6)

Old New Old New Old New Old New Old New

Middle Atlantic 62 62 63 63 62 63 64 66

East North Central 59 59 56 56 54 55 53 55

West North Central 59 60 59 60 57 58 54 57

South Atlantic 56 57 57 57 55 56 54 57

East South Central 55 55 56 57 53 54 54 56

West South Central 55 55 55 55 55 55 56 59

Mountain 58 58 55 56 57 58 56 59

Pacific 61 63 61 63 60 62 59 62

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans

where workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) The March 2004 estimates were originally published in Summary 04-04, table 8, p. 12, in November 2004.

(3) The March 2005 estimates were originally published in Summary 05-01, table 18, p. 22, in August 2005.

(4) The March 2006 estimates were originally published in Summary 06-05, table 19, p. 24, in August 2006.

(5) The March 2007 estimates were originally published in Summary 07-05, table 19, p. 28, in August 2007.

(6) The September 2007 estimates were originally published in Summary 08-02, table 18, p. 24, in March 2008.

(7) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

(8) This category changed from service producing to service providing as part of the transition from SIC to NAICS.

The new estimates for 2004-07 generally run about 1 to 3 percent higher than the corresponding original estimates. No

standard errors are available for the 2004 through 2007 estimates; therefore, statements on the comparison between the

former and new estimates cannot be confirmed by a statistical test.

Table 2 shows the 2008 estimates for paid sick leave and their standard errors.

Table 2. Paid sick leave(1): Access, by ownership, National Compensation Survey, March 2008(2)

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Civilian Private industry State and local

government

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

All workers 65 0.6 61 0.7 89 0.5

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 85 0.9 83 1.2 90 0.7

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans for

which workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) Data for March 2008 were not previously published. These estimates are comparable to the recalculated percentages from 2004 through

2007.

(3) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
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Characteristics

Civilian Private industry State and local

government

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

Management, business, and financial 89 1.0 88 1.2

Professional and related 84 1.0 81 1.4 90 0.8

Teachers 83 1.6 88 0.9

Primary, secondary, and special education

school teachers 91 1.3 92 0.9

Registered Nurses 76 3.4 92 1.9

Service 49 1.9 42 2.4 85 1.1

Protective service 90 1.0

Sales and office 68 0.8 66 0.9 90 1.2

Sales and related 56 1.1 56 1.1

Office and administrative support 76 1.1 73 1.3 91 1.1

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 51 1.3 47 1.4 94 1.8

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry 36 1.7 30 1.6

Installation, maintenance, and repair 69 2.1 67 2.2

Production, transportation, and material moving 52 1.3 51 1.3 88 2.8

Production 52 1.8 51 1.8

Transportation and material moving 53 1.7 51 1.8

Full time 75 0.7 71 0.8 98 0.3

Part time 28 1.1 27 1.2 41 1.7

Union 80 1.0 66 1.7 97 0.4

Nonunion 62 0.7 60 0.7 82 0.9

Average wage within the following percentiles(3):

Less than 10 24 3.2 23 3.2 61 2.5

10 to under 25 45 1.5 41 1.7 85 1.3

25 to under 50 66 1.0 63 1.2 92 0.9

50 to under 75 75 1.0 70 1.1 94 1.1

75 to under 90 82 1.0 77 1.2 95 0.9

90 or greater 87 1.3 83 1.6 97 0.6

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 51 1.4 51 1.4

Construction 32 1.8

Manufacturing 59 2.0

Service-providing 68 0.7 63 0.8 89 0.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities 61 1.0

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans for

which workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) Data for March 2008 were not previously published. These estimates are comparable to the recalculated percentages from 2004 through

2007.

(3) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
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Characteristics

Civilian Private industry State and local

government

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

Wholesale trade 78 1.8

Retail trade 52 1.4

Transportation and warehousing 65 3.1

Utilities 95 2.2

Information 85 4.2

Financial activities 87 1.1

Finance and insurance 90 0.9

Credit intermediation and related activities 92 1.0

Insurance carriers and related activities 89 1.6

Real estate and rental and leasing 77 3.1

Professional and business services 61 2.2

Professional and technical services 82 2.3

Administrative and waste services 37 3.5

Education and health services 82 1.0 76 1.6 90 0.6

Educational services 87 0.8 74 3.1 89 0.6

Elementary and secondary schools 90 0.8 90 0.8

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 85 1.3 82 1.6 87 1.8

Health care and social assistance 78 1.7 77 1.8 91 1.7

Hospitals 88 1.2 92 1.7

Leisure and hospitality 34 5.5

Accommodation and food services 34 6.9

Other services 55 3.2

Public administration 88 1.2 88 1.2

1 to 99 workers 53 1.0 52 1.1 78 2.2

1 to 49 workers 52 1.1 51 1.1 72 3.5

50 to 99 workers 54 2.2 52 2.4 87 1.9

100 or more workers 76 0.9 71 1.2 91 0.5

100 to 499 workers 67 1.2 64 1.4 87 1.0

500 or more workers 83 1.0 78 1.6 92 0.6

State government 94 0.9

Local government 87 0.7

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan 62 0.8

Nonmetropolitan 53 3.0

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans for

which workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) Data for March 2008 were not previously published. These estimates are comparable to the recalculated percentages from 2004 through

2007.

(3) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
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Characteristics

Civilian Private industry State and local

government

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

Percent Standard

error

New England 71 1.1 68 1.3 87 3.3

Middle Atlantic 70 1.6 67 1.8 90 0.8

East North Central 60 1.5 56 1.6 85 2.0

West North Central 63 1.9 59 2.1 87 2.1

South Atlantic 64 1.7 58 1.9 93 1.1

East South Central 63 4.9 57 7.0 91 1.4

West South Central 64 2.1 60 2.4 87 2.0

Mountain 63 2.3 60 2.9 85 2.7

Pacific 67 1.7 63 2.1 92 1.1

Footnotes:

(1) Beginning with the March 2008 estimates, the definition of paid sick leave access was expanded to include previously excluded plans for

which workers had not made use of the benefit.

(2) Data for March 2008 were not previously published. These estimates are comparable to the recalculated percentages from 2004 through

2007.

(3) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.

This is the first publication of the 2008 paid sick leave data, and the estimates are based on the new definition of access.

Future NCS publications of access to paid sick leave will be based on the new definition of access.

Retirement Benefits

The NCS computes the percentage of workers with access to a retirement plan, the percentage with access to a defined

benefit plan, and the percentage with access to a defined contribution plan.7 According to the former definition of access to

retirement benefits, all workers in an occupation (within an establishment) offered retirement benefits were counted as having

access if at least one of the workers had actually chosen to enroll in the benefit. To provide a more inclusive measure of

workers access to retirement benefits, the definition of access has been broadened to account for all workers who had the

option to enroll in a plan. According to the new definition, all workers within an occupation are considered as having access if

the benefit is offered to them, whether or not any workers in that occupation choose to enroll.

The following example illustrates the difference between the former and new definitions of access to retirement benefits: • Establishment A offered its 25 accountants a 401(k) plan (a type of defined contribution plan); 15 of them enrolled in

the plan, while the other 10 chose not to enroll. Under the former and new definitions, all 25 workers would be counted

as having access. • Establishment B offered its 7 accountants a 401(k) plan, but none of the 7 chose to enroll in it. Under the former

definition, none of the accountants would be considered to have access; under the new definition, all 7 would be

considered to have access.

Tables 3, 4, 5 (a-c), 6 (a-c), and 7 (a-c) show side-by-side comparisons of the old and new estimates of access to retirement,

defined benefit, and defined contribution plans in private industry in 2003 through 2007. Table 8 (a-c) shows the same

comparisons for State and local government in 2007.
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Table 3. Retirement benefits: Access, private industry workers, National Compensation Survey, March 2003

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits Defined benefit plans

Defined

contribution

plans

Old New Old New Old New

All workers 57 64 20 21 51 58

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 67 73 23 24 62 69

Blue-collar occupations 59 66 24 24 49 57

Service occupations 28 37 8 8 23 33

Full time 67 74 24 25 60 68

Part time 24 32 8 9 21 29

Union 86 88 74 74 45 49

Nonunion 54 62 15 16 51 59

Average wage less than $15 per hour (1) 45 54 12 12 40 50

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (1) 76 80 34 35 67 72

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 70 75 31 32 60 65

Service-producing 53 61 17 18 48 56

1 to 99 workers 42 51 9 9 38 48

100 or more workers 75 79 34 34 65 70

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 58 65 21 22 51 59

Nonmetropolitan areas 52 58 15 15 47 54

New England 51 55 16 17 44 49

Middle Atlantic 61 66 30 30 49 55

East North Central 64 73 24 25 56 65

West North Central 56 62 22 22 47 54

South Atlantic 57 66 17 17 53 63

East South Central 60 64 14 14 59 63

West South Central 53 62 18 19 49 59

Mountain 51 57 12 14 47 52

Pacific 53 59 20 20 46 54

Footnotes:

(1) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
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Table 4. Retirement benefits: Access, private industry workers, National Compensation Survey, March 2004

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits Defined benefit plans

Defined

contribution

plans

Old New Old New Old New

All workers 59 65 21 21 53 59

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 69 74 24 25 64 71

Blue-collar occupations 59 66 26 26 49 56

Service occupations 31 38 6 6 27 35

Full time 68 74 25 25 62 68

Part time 27 33 9 9 23 30

Union 84 85 70 70 48 49

Nonunion 56 63 16 16 53 60

Average wage less than $15 per hour (1) 46 54 11 12 41 50

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (1) 77 81 35 36 68 73

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 70 75 32 32 60 66

Service-producing 55 62 18 18 50 58

1 to 99 workers 44 52 9 10 40 49

100 or more workers 77 80 35 36 68 72

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 59 66 22 23 53 60

Nonmetropolitan areas 55 61 15 15 51 57

New England 56 64 22 22 50 58

Middle Atlantic 59 64 29 29 50 55

East North Central 65 71 24 25 58 64

West North Central 65 70 21 21 57 64

South Atlantic 57 64 17 17 54 62

East South Central 57 60 14 14 55 59

West South Central 56 64 18 18 52 60

Mountain 59 66 17 18 54 61

Pacific 52 59 22 23 46 52

Footnotes:

(1) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
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Table 5a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2005

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 60 65 50 85 78

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 70 75 61 87 82

Blue-collar occupations 60 66 51 85 77

Service occupations 32 38 22 69 58

Full time 69 75 60 86 80

Part time 27 33 19 71 59

Union 88 88 85 97 96

Nonunion 56 62 46 82 75

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 46 53 35 76 66

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 78 81 71 92 88

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 71 76 64 89 84

Service-producing 56 62 47 83 75

1 to 99 workers 44 52 37 83 71

100 or more workers 78 81 67 86 83

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 60 66 52 85 78

Nonmetropolitan areas 55 60 44 80 73

New England 57 65 51 89 78

Middle Atlantic 60 65 55 91 85

East North Central 64 69 56 89 82

West North Central 64 70 56 87 81

South Atlantic 59 65 47 80 73

East South Central 59 61 44 75 73

West South Central 56 63 45 81 71

Mountain 63 67 49 78 73

Pacific 55 60 47 85 78

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
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Table 5b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2005

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 22 22 21 97 95

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 25 25 24 96 94

Blue-collar occupations 26 26 26 98 97

Service occupations 7 8 7 97 95

Full time 25 26 25 97 96

Part time 10 10 9 91 88

Union 73 73 72 99 99

Nonunion 16 16 15 95 93

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 12 12 11 94 91

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 35 35 34 98 97

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 33 33 32 98 98

Service-producing 19 19 18 96 94

1 to 99 workers 10 10 9 96 94

100 or more workers 37 37 36 97 95

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 23 23 22 96 95

Nonmetropolitan areas 15 16 15 98 97

New England 22 23 21 96 95

Middle Atlantic 29 29 28 98 96

East North Central 25 26 24 96 94

West North Central 23 23 22 98 98

South Atlantic 17 17 16 97 97

East South Central 14 14 13 95 95

West South Central 17 17 17 98 97

Mountain 19 19 17 93 91

Pacific 24 24 23 96 94

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
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Table 5c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2005

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 53 59 42 78 70

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 64 70 53 82 75

Blue-collar occupations 50 56 38 77 68

Service occupations 28 34 18 63 52

Full time 62 68 50 80 73

Part time 23 29 14 61 48

Union 49 51 43 88 84

Nonunion 54 60 41 77 69

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 41 49 29 70 59

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 69 73 59 85 81

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 61 66 50 82 76

Service-producing 51 57 39 77 69

1 to 99 workers 40 48 32 80 67

100 or more workers 69 72 53 77 73

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 54 60 42 79 71

Nonmetropolitan areas 50 56 38 75 68

New England 51 60 42 83 71

Middle Atlantic 50 56 42 84 75

East North Central 55 61 46 83 75

West North Central 56 63 46 82 74

South Atlantic 55 62 41 74 66

East South Central 57 59 41 71 68

West South Central 52 60 38 74 63

Mountain 58 63 42 73 68

Pacific 47 52 37 78 71

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
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Table 6a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2006

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 60 66 51 85 77

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 69 74 60 88 81

Blue-collar occupations 62 67 52 84 77

Service occupations 34 41 24 71 60

Full time 69 75 60 86 80

Part time 29 35 21 72 60

Union 84 85 80 95 95

Nonunion 57 63 47 83 75

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 47 54 36 76 66

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 77 81 70 91 87

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 73 77 64 88 84

Service-producing 56 62 47 83 75

1 to 99 workers 44 52 37 84 71

100 or more workers 78 81 67 85 82

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 61 67 52 86 78

Nonmetropolitan areas 55 60 44 80 74

New England 58 66 50 86 75

Middle Atlantic 61 64 55 90 85

East North Central 63 69 56 89 82

West North Central 64 69 56 88 82

South Atlantic 60 67 49 81 73

East South Central 63 66 47 74 71

West South Central 54 61 43 80 71

Mountain 63 68 52 82 77

Pacific 56 61 47 84 77

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
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Table 6b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2006

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 21 21 20 96 95

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 23 23 22 95 94

Blue-collar occupations 25 26 25 97 96

Service occupations 8 8 7 94 92

Full time 24 24 23 97 96

Part time 9 9 8 88 86

Union 70 70 68 96 96

Nonunion 15 15 14 95 94

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 11 11 10 92 90

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 34 34 33 97 96

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 32 32 31 98 98

Service-producing 18 18 17 94 93

1 to 99 workers 9 9 9 96 95

100 or more workers 35 35 33 95 94

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 22 22 21 96 95

Nonmetropolitan areas 14 14 13 95 94

New England 20 21 19 95 94

Middle Atlantic 27 27 26 97 97

East North Central 25 26 24 96 94

West North Central 20 20 20 97 97

South Atlantic 17 17 16 96 95

East South Central 15 15 14 91 91

West South Central 15 15 15 97 96

Mountain 20 20 18 91 90

Pacific 21 21 20 96 94

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 15

Table 6c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2006

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 54 60 43 79 71

Worker characteristics:

White-collar occupations 65 71 53 82 75

Blue-collar occupations 63 58 40 77 69

Service occupations 30 37 20 65 54

Full time 63 69 51 80 73

Part time 25 31 16 65 52

Union 50 52 44 86 84

Nonunion 55 61 43 78 70

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 43 50 31 71 61

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 69 73 58 85 80

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 63 68 51 82 76

Service-producing 52 58 40 78 69

1 to 99 workers 41 49 33 81 67

100 or more workers 70 73 54 77 74

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 55 61 44 79 71

Nonmetropolitan areas 51 56 39 75 68

New England 53 62 43 81 69

Middle Atlantic 52 56 43 83 77

East North Central 56 62 46 82 75

West North Central 57 62 47 82 76

South Atlantic 57 65 43 75 67

East South Central 60 64 42 70 66

West South Central 50 58 37 74 65

Mountain 59 64 46 78 72

Pacific 49 54 38 78 70

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 16

Table 7a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 61 66 51 84 77

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 76 79 69 91 87

Service 36 43 25 69 57

Sales and office 64 70 54 84 77

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 61 67 51 84 77

Production, transportation, and material moving 65 69 54 83 77

Full time 70 75 60 85 80

Part time 31 37 23 73 61

Union 84 85 81 96 95

Nonunion 58 64 47 82 74

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 47 54 36 75 66

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 76 80 69 90 86

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 70 75 61 86 81

Service-providing 58 64 48 83 76

1 to 99 workers 45 52 37 82 70

100 or more workers 78 81 66 85 82

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 61 67 52 85 78

Nonmetropolitan areas 57 62 44 78 72

New England 57 62 50 88 81

Middle Atlantic 62 66 55 90 84

East North Central 64 69 56 87 81

West North Central 63 68 55 87 81

South Atlantic 62 69 50 80 72

East South Central 66 69 46 71 67

West South Central 55 61 44 80 71

Mountain 63 67 50 79 75

Pacific 57 62 48 84 77

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 17

Table 7b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 21 21 20 95 95

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 29 29 28 97 96

Service 8 8 7 94 93

Sales and office 19 19 17 93 92

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 26 26 25 97 97

Production, transportation, and material moving 26 27 25 96 96

Full time 24 24 23 96 96

Part time 10 10 9 90 88

Union 69 69 67 97 97

Nonunion 15 16 15 95 94

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 11 11 10 92 91

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 33 33 32 97 96

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 29 29 28 98 97

Service-providing 19 19 18 94 94

1 to 99 workers 9 9 9 96 95

100 or more workers 34 34 32 95 95

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 22 22 21 95 95

Nonmetropolitan areas 14 14 14 96 95

New England 21 21 20 96 96

Middle Atlantic 27 27 26 97 96

East North Central 25 26 24 96 94

West North Central 21 22 20 96 95

South Atlantic 17 18 17 96 95

East South Central 14 14 13 92 91

West South Central 17 17 16 95 94

Mountain 18 18 16 92 92

Pacific 21 21 20 95 95

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 18

Table 7c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

All workers 55 61 43 77 70

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 71 75 60 84 80

Service 32 39 20 63 51

Sales and office 60 66 47 78 71

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 51 57 40 77 69

Production, transportation, and material moving 56 60 41 74 68

Full time 64 69 50 79 73

Part time 27 33 18 65 53

Union 49 50 41 85 83

Nonunion 56 62 43 76 69

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 44 51 30 70 60

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 69 73 57 83 78

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing 62 67 49 79 73

Service-providing 53 59 41 77 69

1 to 99 workers 42 50 33 79 66

100 or more workers 70 73 53 76 73

Geographic areas:

Metropolitan areas 56 61 43 78 71

Nonmetropolitan areas 53 58 38 72 66

New England 53 58 44 83 76

Middle Atlantic 53 58 44 83 76

East North Central 56 62 45 80 73

West North Central 56 61 45 81 74

South Atlantic 59 66 44 75 66

East South Central 64 67 42 66 63

West South Central 51 58 38 74 65

Mountain 60 64 44 74 70

Pacific 49 54 38 77 70

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 19

Table 8a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, State and local government workers, National

Compensation Survey, September 2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up

rate

Old New Old New

All workers 89 90 86 97 96

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 91 92 88 96 96

Professional and related 91 92 88 96 96

Teachers 91 91 88 97 97

Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers 97 97 95 98 98

Service 83 84 80 96 95

Protective service 91 91 87 96 96

Sales and office 90 91 88 97 97

Office and administrative support 91 92 89 97 97

Full time 99 99 95 97 96

Part time 39 40 37 93 91

Union 97 97 94 97 97

Nonunion 83 84 80 96 96

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 75 75 72 96 95

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 96 96 92 97 96

Average wage less than $24 per hour (2) 84 84 81 96 96

Average wage $24 per hour or higher (2) 97 97 94 97 97

Establishment characteristics:

Education and health services 91 91 88 97 96

Educational services 91 91 88 97 97

Elementary and secondary schools 92 93 90 98 98

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 86 87 81 94 93

Health care and social assistance 92 92 85 93 93

Hospitals 93 93 85 91 91

Public administration 89 89 86 97 96

1 to 99 workers 77 78 75 97 96

1 to 49 workers 71 72 69 97 95

50 to 99 workers 85 85 83 98 97

100 or more workers 91 92 88 96 96

100 to 499 workers 86 87 84 97 96

500 or more workers 93 93 90 96 96

State government 93 93 89 95 95

Local government 88 89 86 97 97

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 20

Table 8b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, State and local government workers, National

Compensation Survey, September 2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up

rate

Old New Old New

All workers 83 84 79 96 95

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 86 87 82 95 94

Professional and related 86 87 82 95 94

Teachers 88 89 84 95 94

Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers 96 97 94 98 98

Service 76 77 73 96 95

Protective service 84 84 80 96 96

Sales and office 81 82 78 97 95

Office and administrative support 82 84 79 97 95

Full time 91 92 88 96 95

Part time 37 38 35 94 92

Union 95 96 91 96 95

Nonunion 73 74 70 96 94

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 66 67 64 96 95

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 90 91 86 96 95

Average wage less than $24 per hour (2) 76 77 73 96 95

Average wage $24 per hour or higher (2) 93 93 88 95 95

Establishment characteristics:

Education and health services 85 86 81 95 94

Educational services 88 89 84 96 94

Elementary and secondary schools 92 92 89 97 97

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 75 79 68 90 86

Health care and social assistance 68 71 63 93 90

Hospitals 65 69 61 93 89

Public administration 83 83 80 96 96

1 to 99 workers 65 66 63 97 96

1 to 49 workers 58 59 56 96 94

50 to 99 workers 74 75 73 98 97

100 or more workers 86 87 82 96 95

100 to 499 workers 80 80 76 96 95

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 21

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

500 or more workers 88 89 84 95 94

State government 86 88 80 93 91

Local government 82 82 79 97 96

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

Table 8c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, State and local government workers, National

Compensation Survey, September 2007

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up

rate

Old New Old New

All workers 29 30 18 63 61

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 29 30 18 60 59

Professional and related 28 28 17 60 58

Teachers 24 25 13 56 55

Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers 17 17 8 44 44

Service 27 28 18 68 65

Protective service 33 35 23 72 67

Sales and office 33 34 22 65 63

Office and administrative support 33 34 21 65 63

Full time 33 34 21 64 62

Part time 8 9 5 57 53

Union 26 27 15 58 56

Nonunion 32 33 21 67 65

Average wage less than $15 per hour (2) 24 26 16 65 62

Average wage $15 per hour or higher (2) 31 32 20 63 61

Average wage less than $24 per hour (2) 28 29 18 64 61

Average wage $24 per hour or higher (2) 30 31 19 63 62

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 22

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of

Access Participation (1)

Take-up rate

Old New Old New

Establishment characteristics:

Education and health services 27 28 16 60 58

Educational services 23 24 13 56 55

Elementary and secondary schools 17 17 8 51 49

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 45 47 29 63 61

Health care and social assistance 55 55 38 70 69

Hospitals 59 60 39 66 66

Public administration 32 34 22 67 64

1 to 99 workers 25 27 21 83 77

1 to 49 workers 22 25 18 81 72

50 to 99 workers 29 30 24 86 83

100 or more workers 30 31 18 61 59

100 to 499 workers 24 26 15 62 59

500 or more workers 32 32 19 61 59

State government 43 44 27 61 60

Local government 24 25 16 65 62

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

The new estimates for access to defined benefits in private industry for 2003-07 run no more than 1 percent higher than the

corresponding original estimates. The percentage point differences between original and new estimates for access to defined

contribution plans are slightly larger and more variable than those for access to defined benefit plans.8 The estimates for

access to retirement benefits (of at least one type) are affected by the estimates of access to defined benefit and to defined

contribution plans; consequently, the estimates of access to retirement benefits were higher under the new definition of

access than under the former definition, but the differences were smaller than for defined contribution benefits.

The new estimates for access to retirement benefits in State and local governments showed less variability between former

and new estimates than did the private industry estimates. As with paid sick leave, no standard errors are available for the

2003-07 estimates; therefore, statements on the comparison between the former and new estimates cannot be confirmed by

a statistical test.

Tables 9 (a-c), 10 (a-c), and 11 (a-c) show the new and former 2008 estimates for retirement benefits in the entire civilian

sector, private industry, and State and local governments, respectively. Standard errors of the new estimates are available for

the 2008 data and are shown in the tables with their respective estimates.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 23

Table 9a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, civilian workers, National Compensation

Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 66 70 0.6 56 86 80 0.7

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 81 83 0.9 74 92 89 0.5

Management, business, and financial 83 87 1.7 79 94 91 0.7

Professional and related 80 82 0.8 73 91 89 0.7

Teachers 82 83 1.3 79 96 95 0.5

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers 90 91 1.4 88 98 96 0.6

Registered nurses 80 82 2.1 68 85 83 2.1

Service 44 50 2.1 34 76 67 2.4

Sales and office 67 72 0.9 57 85 79 0.7

Sales and related 60 67 1.2 46 77 69 1.2

Office and administrative support 71 76 1.2 64 90 84 0.6

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 65 69 1.5 56 86 80 0.9

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry 61 66 2.4 51 84 77 1.5

Installation, maintenance, and repair 69 73 1.7 61 88 83 1.2

Production, transportation, and material moving 66 71 1.3 55 83 77 1.1

Production 68 72 1.9 57 84 79 1.3

Transportation and material moving 64 70 1.9 53 82 76 1.4

Full time 75 79 0.5 66 87 83 0.7

Part time 33 39 1.2 25 76 64 1.5

Union 90 91 0.8 86 96 95 0.5

Nonunion 61 66 0.7 51 83 77 0.8

Average wage within the following percentiles(2):

Less than 10 26 35 3.1 15 59 44 2.9

10 to under 25 45 52 1.2 32 72 63 1.6

25 to under 50 66 72 1.0 55 83 77 0.8

50 to under 75 76 79 0.8 68 90 85 0.5

75 to under 90 84 86 0.9 78 93 91 0.5

90 or greater 88 89 0.9 82 94 92 0.7

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing industries 72 76 1.2 62 87 82 0.9

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 24

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Service-providing industries 64 69 0.7 55 86 80 0.8

Education and health services 75 78 1.0 67 90 87 0.9

Educational services 85 87 0.7 82 96 95 0.5

Elementary and secondary schools 89 90 0.6 87 98 97 0.4

Junior colleges, colleges, and

universities 85 87 1.2 79 93 91 1.2

Health care and social assistance 67 71 1.7 56 84 79 1.5

Hospitals 88 89 1.1 78 88 88 1.1

Public administration 89 89 1.2 86 96 96 0.6

1 to 99 workers 47 54 1.0 39 82 71 1.0

1 to 49 workers 42 50 1.3 35 83 71 1.1

50 to 99 workers 59 66 2.0 48 81 72 1.5

100 or more workers 82 84 0.8 72 88 86 1.1

100 to 499 workers 75 78 1.3 63 85 80 0.9

500 or more workers 89 90 0.7 80 90 90 1.9

Geographic areas

New England 60 65 1.2 53 89 82 1.7

Middle Atlantic 66 70 1.3 60 91 85 0.5

East North Central 67 72 1.2 59 89 83 1.1

West North Central 68 73 1.9 60 89 83 1.6

South Atlantic 68 73 1.2 56 83 77 1.1

East South Central 70 74 5.1 53 76 72 7.3

West South Central 61 67 1.6 52 84 77 1.7

Mountain 67 70 3.0 56 83 79 1.0

Pacific 64 68 2.1 55 86 81 1.1

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 25

Table 9b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, civilian workers, National Compensation

Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 31 31 0.7 29 96 95 0.5

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 46 47 1.0 44 96 95 0.7

Management, business, and financial 43 44 1.7 41 96 95 0.6

Professional and related 47 48 1.1 46 96 95 0.9

Teachers 71 72 1.9 68 96 95 1.0

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers 84 84 1.7 82 98 98 0.4

Registered nurses 38 38 3.2 36 97 95 1.4

Service 19 19 1.1 18 96 95 0.5

Sales and office 25 25 0.7 23 94 93 0.5

Sales and related 15 15 1.2 14 90 89 1.4

Office and administrative support 31 31 0.8 29 96 95 0.6

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 31 31 1.5 30 98 97 0.5

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry 30 30 2.1 30 99 98 0.7

Installation, maintenance, and repair 32 32 1.7 31 96 95 0.7

Production, transportation, and material moving 29 29 1.2 27 96 96 0.5

Production 28 28 1.5 28 98 97 0.5

Transportation and material moving 29 29 1.6 27 94 94 0.8

Full time 36 36 0.8 34 96 95 0.5

Part time 13 14 0.7 12 92 90 0.9

Union 80 80 1.2 77 97 96 0.4

Nonunion 21 22 0.7 20 95 94 0.6

Average wage within the following percentiles(2):

Less than 10 5 5 0.7 5 88 87 2.0

10 to under 25 12 12 0.8 11 91 90 1.3

25 to under 50 25 25 0.9 24 96 95 0.5

50 to under 75 36 37 0.9 35 96 95 0.7

75 to under 90 53 54 1.1 52 97 96 0.4

90 or greater 53 54 1.2 51 96 95 0.7

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing industries 30 30 1.4 29 98 97 0.6

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 26

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Service-providing industries 31 31 0.7 29 95 94 0.5

Education and health services 46 47 1.3 44 96 95 1.3

Educational services 73 75 1.0 71 96 95 1.4

Elementary and secondary schools 85 86 1.0 83 98 97 0.4

Junior colleges, colleges, and

universities 54 57 2.5 49 90 86 5.4

Health care and social assistance 26 26 1.6 25 96 95 1.3

Hospitals 51 52 2.6 49 96 94 2.0

Public administration 83 83 1.5 79 96 95 0.7

1 to 99 workers 12 12 0.6 11 96 94 0.6

1 to 49 workers 9 10 0.6 9 96 95 0.9

50 to 99 workers 18 18 1.2 17 96 94 0.9

100 or more workers 47 48 1.2 45 96 95 0.6

100 to 499 workers 32 32 1.2 30 96 95 0.5

500 or more workers 61 62 2.5 59 96 95 0.8

Geographic areas

New England 29 29 2.0 27 96 95 1.1

Middle Atlantic 35 36 1.3 34 96 94 1.1

East North Central 33 33 1.2 32 96 96 0.4

West North Central 30 31 2.2 28 94 91 4.5

South Atlantic 29 29 1.0 28 94 94 0.7

East South Central 26 26 6.5 25 96 96 1.6

West South Central 27 27 1.6 26 97 97 0.3

Mountain 27 27 2.1 26 96 96 1.2

Pacific 33 33 1.4 32 96 96 0.6

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 27

Table 9c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, civilian workers, National Compensation

Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 52 57 0.7 39 76 69 0.7

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 59 62 1.0 47 80 76 0.8

Management, business, and financial 72 76 1.7 61 86 81 0.8

Professional and related 54 57 1.0 42 77 74 1.0

Teachers 29 30 1.8 20 68 66 2.9

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers 20 21 2.0 11 57 55 4.2

Registered nurses 64 66 2.7 45 70 68 2.1

Service 32 38 2.4 20 62 51 1.9

Sales and office 59 65 1.0 46 77 70 0.7

Sales and related 57 64 1.3 41 73 65 1.2

Office and administrative support 60 65 1.3 48 80 74 0.8

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 51 56 1.3 39 77 70 1.0

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry 44 50 2.2 33 75 67 1.8

Installation, maintenance, and repair 59 63 1.7 46 78 73 1.3

Production, transportation, and material moving 55 60 1.3 41 74 67 1.1

Production 60 65 2.0 45 74 69 1.5

Transportation and material moving 50 55 2.0 36 73 66 1.4

Full time 60 64 0.7 46 77 71 0.7

Part time 26 32 1.1 17 65 52 1.6

Union 40 41 1.3 30 76 74 1.6

Nonunion 54 60 0.8 41 76 68 0.7

Average wage within the following percentiles(2):

Less than 10 24 33 3.2 13 54 39 2.6

10 to under 25 39 45 1.2 25 65 55 1.8

25 to under 50 54 60 1.0 40 73 66 0.8

50 to under 75 59 63 0.9 46 79 74 0.6

75 to under 90 61 64 1.0 49 81 77 0.8

90 or greater 67 69 1.1 56 84 81 1.0

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing industries 63 68 1.2 50 79 74 0.9

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 28

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Service-providing industries 50 55 0.9 37 75 68 0.8

Education and health services 45 48 1.4 32 72 67 1.5

Educational services 30 31 1.5 20 69 65 2.4

Elementary and secondary schools 18 19 1.6 10 57 55 3.7

Junior colleges, colleges, and

universities 59 61 3.1 45 76 74 2.4

Health care and social assistance 56 61 1.9 41 73 68 1.7

Hospitals 69 70 2.3 49 70 69 1.5

Public administration 32 33 2.2 21 64 62 3.8

1 to 99 workers 41 49 1.0 32 78 66 0.9

1 to 49 workers 38 46 1.3 30 80 66 1.1

50 to 99 workers 51 58 1.9 38 74 65 1.4

100 or more workers 61 64 1.0 45 74 71 1.1

100 to 499 workers 61 65 1.3 46 75 71 1.0

500 or more workers 61 62 1.6 45 73 72 1.9

Geographic areas

New England 46 51 1.2 38 82 74 1.1

Middle Atlantic 48 53 1.1 40 82 75 1.0

East North Central 54 59 1.3 41 76 70 1.3

West North Central 54 59 1.9 44 81 75 1.7

South Atlantic 58 64 1.2 41 70 63 1.5

East South Central 55 59 6.9 35 64 60 5.7

West South Central 49 55 1.6 36 73 65 1.5

Mountain 54 58 2.4 41 76 71 1.2

Pacific 47 51 2.1 37 78 72 1.4

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 29

Table 10a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry, National Compensation

Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 61 67 0.7 51 83 77 0.8

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 76 80 1.2 68 90 86 0.7

Management, business, and financial 82 86 2.0 77 94 89 0.8

Professional and related 73 76 1.2 64 88 84 1.0

Service 37 44 2.7 25 68 57 2.5

Sales and office 65 71 1.0 55 84 77 0.8

Sales and related 60 67 1.3 46 77 69 1.2

Office and administrative support 68 73 1.4 60 88 82 0.7

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 62 67 1.6 52 84 78 1.0

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry 58 64 2.6 47 82 74 1.7

Installation, maintenance, and repair 67 71 1.9 58 86 81 1.4

Production, transportation, and material

moving 65 70 1.3 54 82 76 1.1

Production 68 72 1.9 57 84 79 1.3

Transportation and material moving 63 69 2.0 51 81 74 1.5

Full time 71 76 0.6 60 85 79 0.8

Part time 32 38 1.3 23 73 61 1.7

Union 85 86 1.4 80 95 94 0.9

Nonunion 59 65 0.8 48 81 74 0.8

Average wage within the following

percentiles(2):

Less than 10 25 34 3.2 14 57 42 3.0

10 to under 25 41 48 1.6 28 68 58 1.7

25 to under 50 63 69 1.1 50 80 73 0.9

50 to under 75 70 75 1.0 61 87 82 0.7

75 to under 90 79 83 1.1 73 91 88 0.8

90 or greater 84 86 1.2 78 92 90 0.9

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing industries 71 76 1.2 62 86 82 0.9

Construction 55 61 2.1 45 83 74 1.5

Manufacturing 78 82 1.4 69 87 84 1.0

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 30

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Service-providing industries 59 65 0.9 49 82 75 1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities 67 73 1.0 54 81 74 0.9

Wholesale trade 76 82 2.5 66 87 81 1.2

Retail trade 61 68 1.1 46 75 67 1.1

Transportation and warehousing 73 75 3.1 63 86 84 1.8

Utilities 94 95 2.3 93 99 98 0.7

Information 78 81 4.3 73 94 90 1.7

Financial activities 79 84 1.9 73 92 87 1.1

Finance and insurance 88 90 1.1 82 94 92 0.7

Credit intermediation and related

activities 92 94 0.9 87 94 92 0.9

Insurance carriers and related

activities 83 85 1.8 77 93 91 1.0

Real estate and rental and leasing 47 62 4.5 39 84 64 4.2

Professional and business services 54 59 2.3 46 85 79 1.7

Professional and technical services 71 75 2.9 63 89 85 2.0

Administrative and waste services 33 37 3.2 24 74 65 4.2

Education and health services 64 69 1.7 54 84 79 1.5

Educational services 64 70 2.7 58 91 83 2.0

Junior colleges, colleges, and

universities 85 88 1.2 77 91 87 1.2

Health care and social assistance 64 69 1.8 53 83 78 1.7

Leisure and hospitality 30 40 6.5 18 59 45 3.0

Accommodation and food services 29 40 6.8 17 57 42 2.7

Other services 40 47 3.3 31 79 67 3.3

1 to 99 workers 45 53 1.1 37 81 70 1.0

1 to 49 workers 41 49 1.4 34 82 69 1.2

50 to 99 workers 58 65 2.1 45 79 70 1.6

100 or more workers 79 82 1.0 67 85 82 1.4

100 to 499 workers 73 77 1.5 60 83 78 1.0

500 or more workers 87 88 1.2 76 87 86 2.8

Geographic areas

Metropolitan areas 62 68 0.7 53 84 78 0.6

Nonmetropolitan areas 57 63 2.8 44 77 70 3.8

New England 56 62 1.3 49 87 79 1.7

Middle Atlantic 62 67 1.4 55 90 83 0.6

East North Central 64 70 1.3 56 87 80 1.2

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 31

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

West North Central 64 70 2.0 56 87 81 1.8

South Atlantic 63 70 1.3 50 79 72 1.6

East South Central 65 70 6.7 45 69 64 7.4

West South Central 56 62 1.9 45 80 72 1.8

Mountain 63 67 3.3 51 80 75 0.9

Pacific 58 63 2.5 49 83 77 1.6

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.

Table 10b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry, National Compensation

Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 21 22 0.7 20 96 95 0.4

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 29 30 1.3 28 97 95 0.6

Management, business, and financial 35 35 1.9 34 97 96 0.6

Professional and related 26 27 1.3 26 96 95 0.8

Service 9 9 0.7 8 95 94 0.9

Sales and office 20 20 0.7 19 94 93 0.6

Sales and related 15 15 1.2 13 89 89 1.5

Office and administrative support 23 23 0.8 22 96 95 0.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 26 26 1.6 25 98 97 0.6

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry 24 25 2.1 24 100 98 0.8

Installation, maintenance, and repair 28 28 1.7 26 95 95 0.9

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 32

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Production, transportation, and material

moving 26 27 1.2 25 96 95 0.6

Production 27 28 1.5 27 98 97 0.5

Transportation and material moving 25 25 1.7 24 94 93 1.0

Full time 25 25 0.8 24 96 95 0.3

Part time 11 11 0.7 10 90 89 1.1

Union 69 69 1.9 67 97 97 0.4

Nonunion 16 16 0.6 15 95 94 0.5

Average wage within the following

percentiles(2):

Less than 10 4 4 0.7 4 87 86 2.5

10 to under 25 9 9 0.8 8 89 87 1.8

25 to under 50 16 16 0.8 15 95 94 0.7

50 to under 75 25 25 1.0 24 97 96 0.5

75 to under 90 40 40 1.3 38 97 96 0.4

90 or greater 39 40 1.3 38 96 95 0.7

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing industries 30 30 1.4 29 98 97 0.6

Construction 18 19 1.8 18 100 98 1.1

Manufacturing 34 34 1.8 33 98 97 0.7

Service-providing industries 19 19 0.7 18 95 94 0.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities 22 22 1.2 20 91 90 1.0

Wholesale trade 16 16 2.3 16 98 98 0.8

Retail trade 17 17 1.2 15 88 87 1.8

Transportation and warehousing 41 41 3.3 36 88 88 1.8

Utilities 85 86 3.6 84 98 97 0.9

Information 49 49 4.7 48 98 97 0.8

Financial activities 42 42 1.4 40 97 96 0.5

Finance and insurance 50 50 1.5 48 97 96 0.5

Credit intermediation and related

activities 56 56 2.1 55 98 98 0.3

Insurance carriers and related

activities 45 46 3.0 44 96 95 1.1

Real estate and rental and leasing 11 11 2.1 11 98 98 2.0

Professional and business services 13 13 2.0 13 98 97 1.0

Professional and technical services 9 9 2.1 9 100 100 0.2

Administrative and waste services 10 10 2.7 10 99 98 0.8

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 33

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Education and health services 21 21 1.4 20 96 95 0.6

Educational services 16 17 2.5 14 92 86 3.9

Junior colleges, colleges, and

universities 18 20 3.9 16 89 85 4.3

Health care and social assistance 22 22 1.6 21 97 96 0.6

Leisure and hospitality 3 3 0.7 2 96 93 5.0

Accommodation and food services 3 3 0.8 3 96 96 4.3

Other services 8 9 1.8 8 93 91 3.9

1 to 99 workers 9 10 0.6 9 96 94 0.8

1 to 49 workers 8 8 0.6 7 96 95 1.0

50 to 99 workers 14 14 1.2 13 95 93 1.1

100 or more workers 35 35 1.3 33 96 95 0.4

100 to 499 workers 24 25 1.2 23 95 94 0.7

500 or more workers 47 47 3.0 45 96 95 0.4

Geographic areas

Metropolitan areas 23 23 0.7 22 96 95 0.4

Nonmetropolitan areas 14 15 1.7 14 96 95 1.1

New England 20 20 1.6 19 95 94 1.1

Middle Atlantic 27 27 1.3 26 97 95 0.7

East North Central 26 26 1.3 25 96 95 0.6

West North Central 23 23 1.6 22 95 95 1.5

South Atlantic 18 18 1.1 17 95 94 0.8

East South Central - - - - - - - West South Central 17 18 1.4 17 96 95 0.5

Mountain 18 18 1.2 17 94 94 2.1

Pacific 22 23 2.0 21 96 95 1.0

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 34

Table 10c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, private industry, National Compensation

Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 56 62 0.7 43 77 70 0.7

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 72 76 1.2 60 84 79 0.7

Management, business, and financial 79 84 2.0 69 88 82 0.7

Professional and related 69 72 1.2 56 81 78 1.0

Service 33 40 2.8 20 62 50 2.0

Sales and office 61 68 1.0 48 78 71 0.7

Sales and related 57 64 1.3 41 73 65 1.2

Office and administrative support 64 70 1.4 52 82 75 0.8

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 53 58 1.4 41 77 71 1.1

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry 46 52 2.4 35 75 67 1.8

Installation, maintenance, and repair 61 65 1.8 48 79 74 1.4

Production, transportation, and material

moving 57 62 1.3 42 73 67 1.1

Production 61 65 2.0 45 74 69 1.5

Transportation and material moving 52 58 2.1 38 73 66 1.4

Full time 65 70 0.7 51 78 72 0.7

Part time 27 34 1.2 18 65 52 1.7

Union 50 52 1.8 42 83 81 1.5

Nonunion 57 63 0.8 43 76 69 0.7

Average wage within the following

percentiles(2):

Less than 10 24 32 3.3 13 54 39 2.8

10 to under 25 38 45 1.5 24 63 53 1.8

25 to under 50 58 64 1.1 43 74 66 0.9

50 to under 75 63 68 1.0 51 80 74 0.7

75 to under 90 70 74 1.2 59 83 79 0.8

90 or greater 80 82 1.2 69 87 84 1.1

Establishment characteristics:

Goods-producing industries 64 68 1.2 50 79 74 0.9

Construction 44 50 2.1 35 78 68 1.7

Manufacturing 72 76 1.5 57 79 75 1.0

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 35

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Service-providing industries 54 60 0.9 41 76 69 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities 61 67 1.2 46 75 69 0.8

Wholesale trade 72 78 2.6 60 83 77 1.4

Retail trade 56 63 1.2 39 70 62 1.1

Transportation and warehousing 59 61 3.4 46 78 76 2.3

Utilities 85 87 5.5 72 85 83 3.1

Information 77 80 4.3 62 80 77 1.6

Financial activities 75 82 2.2 62 83 77 1.0

Finance and insurance 84 88 1.3 70 83 80 0.7

Credit intermediation and related

activities 88 92 1.3 71 81 77 0.9

Insurance carriers and related

activities 79 83 2.1 67 86 81 1.4

Real estate and rental and leasing 42 57 5.5 34 81 60 4.0

Professional and business services 53 57 2.3 43 81 75 1.7

Professional and technical services 70 74 3.0 61 87 83 2.1

Administrative and waste services 31 36 3.1 21 69 60 4.3

Education and health services 57 61 2.0 43 76 70 1.7

Educational services 59 64 2.8 52 89 81 2.0

Junior colleges, colleges, and

universities 83 87 1.3 75 90 86 1.2

Health care and social assistance 56 61 2.1 42 74 68 1.9

Leisure and hospitality 29 39 6.7 16 56 42 3.0

Accommodation and food services 28 39 6.9 15 54 38 2.8

Other services 34 42 3.2 26 77 62 3.3

1 to 99 workers 42 50 1.0 33 78 65 0.9

1 to 49 workers 39 47 1.3 31 80 66 1.1

50 to 99 workers 52 60 2.1 39 74 65 1.5

100 or more workers 71 75 1.1 55 76 73 1.2

100 to 499 workers 66 71 1.5 51 76 71 1.1

500 or more workers 78 79 1.5 59 76 75 2.4

Geographic areas

Metropolitan areas 57 62 0.7 44 78 71 0.6

Nonmetropolitan areas 54 59 3.0 38 71 64 3.2

New England 52 58 1.3 43 82 74 1.1

Middle Atlantic 53 59 1.4 44 82 75 1.1

East North Central 57 63 1.4 45 80 72 1.4

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 36

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

West North Central 58 64 1.9 48 82 75 1.5

South Atlantic 61 67 1.4 45 74 66 1.5

East South Central 63 68 6.9 40 64 60 6.0

West South Central 53 60 1.7 39 73 65 1.5

Mountain 60 64 2.8 45 75 71 1.2

Pacific 51 56 2.4 39 77 70 1.5

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and

below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in "National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings

in the United States, 2007." See the Technical Note for details.

Table 11a. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, State and local government workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 89 90 0.6 86 96 96 0.4

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 91 92 0.6 88 96 96 0.5

Professional and related 91 91 0.6 88 96 96 0.5

Teachers 91 91 0.7 88 97 97 0.4

Primary, secondary, and special education

school teachers 96 97 0.4 95 98 98 0.3

Registered nurses 94 94 1.7 88 93 93 1.3

Service 83 84 1.2 79 96 95 0.7

Protective service 91 91 1.0 87 96 96 0.9

Sales and office 90 91 1.4 87 97 96 0.5

Office and administrative support 91 92 1.3 88 97 96 0.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 93 93 1.9 91 98 97 0.6

Production, transportation, and material moving 87 87 4.2 85 98 97 0.7

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 37

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Full time 99 99 0.3 95 97 96 0.4

Part time 40 40 1.8 37 94 92 1.3

Union 97 97 0.3 94 97 97 0.4

Nonunion 83 84 0.9 80 96 95 0.7

Average wage within the following percentiles(2):

Less than 10 58 59 2.3 55 94 93 1.2

10 to under 25 84 85 1.5 81 96 95 0.7

25 to under 50 93 94 0.6 90 96 96 0.7

50 to under 75 95 95 1.0 91 96 96 0.6

75 to under 90 97 97 0.5 94 97 97 0.4

90 or greater 98 98 0.4 95 97 97 0.4

Establishment characteristics:

Service-providing 89 90 0.6 86 96 96 0.4

Education and health services 91 91 0.5 88 97 96 0.5

Educational services 91 91 0.5 88 97 97 0.5

Elementary and secondary schools 92 93 0.4 90 98 98 0.3

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 85 86 1.9 80 94 93 1.7

Health care and social assistance 92 92 1.3 85 93 92 1.7

Hospitals 93 93 1.6 84 91 91 2.5

Public administration 89 89 1.2 86 96 96 0.6

1 to 99 workers 77 78 2.3 75 97 96 0.8

1 to 49 workers 71 72 3.5 69 97 95 1.2

50 to 99 workers 85 85 2.4 83 98 97 0.9

100 or more workers 91 91 0.5 88 96 96 0.5

100 to 499 workers 87 87 1.1 84 96 96 0.5

500 or more workers 93 93 0.5 89 96 96 0.5

State government 93 93 1.0 88 95 94 1.2

Local government 88 89 0.6 85 97 96 0.4

Geographic areas

New England 85 86 1.9 82 96 96 2.1

Middle Atlantic 90 91 0.7 87 96 95 1.5

East North Central 85 85 1.7 82 97 97 0.4

West North Central 89 89 1.9 83 93 93 2.4

South Atlantic 90 90 1.2 86 95 95 0.9

East South Central 90 90 3.4 86 96 96 2.2

West South Central 91 91 1.6 89 99 98 0.3

Mountain 89 90 1.9 87 97 97 1.2

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 38

Characteristics

All retirement benefits

Definition of Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up Rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Pacific 92 92 1.0 89 97 97 0.8

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

Table 11b. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, State and local government workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 83 84 0.9 79 96 95 1.0

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 86 87 0.9 82 96 94 1.2

Professional and related 86 87 0.9 82 96 95 1.3

Teachers 88 89 1.0 85 96 95 1.0

Primary, secondary, and special education

school teachers 96 97 0.4 95 98 98 0.3

Registered nurses 75 77 3.9 73 96 94 4.2

Service 76 77 1.6 73 96 95 0.7

Protective service 84 84 2.0 81 96 96 1.0

Sales and office 81 82 1.7 78 96 95 1.5

Office and administrative support 82 83 1.6 79 96 95 1.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 85 86 2.8 83 98 97 0.9

Production, transportation, and material moving 80 80 4.4 78 98 98 0.7

Full time 91 92 0.8 88 96 95 1.1

Part time 37 38 1.8 35 95 92 1.4

Union 95 96 0.4 91 96 96 0.8

Nonunion 73 74 1.5 70 96 94 1.4

Average wage within the following percentiles(2):

Less than 10 48 50 3.0 46 96 94 1.3

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 39

Characteristics

Defined benefit plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

10 to under 25 76 77 1.7 73 96 95 0.7

25 to under 50 86 88 1.0 83 96 94 1.8

50 to under 75 88 88 1.4 84 96 95 1.2

75 to under 90 94 94 0.7 91 97 96 0.6

90 or greater 92 93 1.5 88 96 95 1.5

Establishment characteristics:

Service-providing 83 84 0.9 79 96 95 1.0

Education and health services 85 86 0.8 82 96 94 1.8

Educational services 87 89 0.7 84 96 95 1.4

Elementary and secondary schools 91 92 0.5 89 98 97 0.3

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 74 78 2.7 67 90 86 6.1

Health care and social assistance 69 71 3.6 64 93 90 4.8

Hospitals 65 68 4.5 61 94 89 7.3

Public administration 83 83 1.5 79 96 95 0.7

1 to 99 workers 64 65 3.1 63 98 96 1.0

1 to 49 workers 57 58 4.2 55 96 94 1.6

50 to 99 workers 75 76 3.9 74 99 98 0.8

100 or more workers 85 86 0.8 82 96 95 1.2

100 to 499 workers 81 81 1.5 77 96 95 0.5

500 or more workers 87 88 0.9 84 96 95 1.5

State government 85 88 1.5 79 93 90 3.5

Local government 82 82 0.9 80 97 97 0.3

Geographic areas

New England 85 86 1.9 82 97 96 2.2

Middle Atlantic 87 88 1.0 82 94 93 2.6

East North Central 79 80 2.2 77 97 97 0.4

West North Central 70 77 6.3 65 92 84 10.2

South Atlantic 87 87 1.2 81 94 93 1.0

East South Central 80 80 4.9 78 98 98 2.1

West South Central 78 78 1.3 77 99 99 0.2

Mountain 83 84 3.0 82 99 98 0.6

Pacific 87 88 1.9 85 98 97 0.7

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 40

Table 11c. Retirement benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates, State and local government workers, National

Compensation Survey, March 2008

(All workers = 100 percent)

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

All workers 29 30 1.5 18 62 60 2.7

Worker characteristics:

Management, professional, and related 29 30 1.7 17 59 58 3.2

Professional and related 28 28 1.7 16 58 57 3.3

Teachers 24 24 1.7 13 56 55 4.0

Primary, secondary, and special education

school teachers 16 16 1.7 7 43 42 4.8

Registered nurses 48 48 4.8 29 60 60 6.8

Service 26 28 1.7 17 64 61 3.0

Protective service 33 35 2.6 21 66 62 4.1

Sales and office 33 34 2.2 21 64 62 3.3

Office and administrative support 33 33 2.2 21 63 62 3.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance 28 32 3.2 19 66 58 4.8

Production, transportation, and material moving 20 22 3.3 16 77 71 5.5

Full time 32 34 1.6 20 62 60 2.7

Part time 9 9 1.1 5 54 52 5.3

Union 26 26 1.8 15 57 55 4.0

Nonunion 31 33 1.9 20 65 63 3.2

Average wage within the following percentiles(2):

Establishment characteristics:

Less than 10 17 18 2.0 11 66 63 4.3

10 to under 25 27 29 2.2 16 61 57 3.2

25 to under 50 31 32 2.3 19 61 59 3.8

50 to under 75 32 33 2.1 20 62 61 3.3

75 to under 90 29 30 1.7 17 59 58 3.2

90 or greater 32 32 2.3 21 65 64 4.3

Service-providing 29 30 1.5 18 62 60 2.7

Education and health services 27 28 1.9 16 59 58 3.6

Educational services 23 23 1.8 13 56 55 3.7

Elementary and secondary schools 16 16 1.5 8 50 49 4.4

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities 45 47 4.7 29 63 61 5.0

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

NOTE: Dashes indicate estimates did not meet publication cruteria.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 41

Characteristics

Defined contribution plans

Access

Participation 

(1)

Take-up rate

Old New New standard

errors

Old New New standard

errors

Health care and social assistance 57 57 3.5 37 66 65 5.1

Hospitals 60 60 4.4 40 67 67 5.0

Public administration 32 33 2.2 21 64 62 3.8

1 to 99 workers 24 26 2.7 20 82 75 4.0

1 to 49 workers 23 25 3.0 18 81 73 6.1

50 to 99 workers 26 28 4.0 21 83 77 5.2

100 or more workers 30 30 1.6 18 59 58 3.0

100 to 499 workers 25 27 2.5 16 61 58 4.1

500 or more workers 31 32 1.8 18 59 58 3.2

State government 44 45 3.2 26 59 59 5.1

Local government 24 25 1.3 15 63 61 2.4

Geographic areas

New England 7 7 1.4 6 85 82 10.6

Middle Atlantic 19 19 3.3 14 74 73 3.0

East North Central 36 36 3.8 14 39 38 7.9

West North Central - - - - - - - South Atlantic 47 48 3.9 21 46 44 4.0

East South Central 20 20 3.8 13 64 62 13.5

West South Central 25 27 2.1 19 78 70 3.9

Mountain 19 21 3.8 15 80 71 8.1

Pacific 26 26 3.7 23 89 88 2.5

Footnotes:

(1) The methodology for computing participation estimates were unchanged and therefore were not recalculated.

(2) The wage breakouts are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the

threshold.

NOTE: Dashes indicate estimates did not meet publication cruteria.

Measured Differences Between The Old And New Estimates

To measure the degree of difference between the original and new estimates, a range of two standard errors was computed

around the new estimate. This range was then compared with the original estimates. This section analyzes the number of

original estimates that differ from the new estimates by more than two standard errors.

The civilian sector, as defined in the NCS, consists of private industry and State and local government. Estimates of access

to retirement benefits for the civilian sector reflect data on access for workers in private industry and State and local

government. As shown in table 9, none of the original estimates to defined benefit plans fall outside the two-standard-error

range for the 51 estimates published. The original estimates of access to defined contribution plans fall outside of the twostandard-error range for 37 of the 51 estimates published.

Private industry estimates of access to defined benefit plans did not fall outside the two-standard-error range for any of the 66

estimates published, confirming that the estimates of access to defined benefit plans in private industry were largely
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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unaffected by the change in definition. The original estimates for defined contribution plans fall outside the two-standard-error

range for 48 of the 66 estimates published. (See table 10.)

As shown in table 11, the original State and local government estimates of access to defined benefit plans fall outside the

two-standard-error range for only 3 of the 47 estimates published. None of the 46 original defined contribution estimates fall

outside the two-standard-error range.9

Conclusion

The NCS has published new estimates of worker access to paid sick leave under new definitions of access for 2004 to 2008.

The NCS has also published for the first time retirement estimates under the new definition of access for the survey years

2003-08, new take-up rate estimates for 2005 through 2008, and standard errors for the new estimates. The definition of

participation has remained the same despite these changes in definition of access. From 2009 forward, NCS publications on

access to paid sick leave, defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and (all) retirement plans will be based on the

new definitions of employee access to these benefits.

Natalie Kramer

Economist, Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of

Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-6262; E-mail: Kramer.Natalie@bls.gov. Alan Zilberman

Economist, Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of

Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-5179; E-mail: Zilberman.Alan@bls.gov. Notes

1 A provision is a detail of a benefit plan, such as the amount of the co-payment an insured party pays for a doctors office visit and the

number of years of service that are required before an employee is eligible to receive a payout from a pension plan.

2 Prior to 2003, attempts had been made to estimate employees access to benefits; however, the methods of data collection did not allow for

an easy production of such estimates. For a discussion of earlier attempts to estimate access to benefit plans, see Michael Bucci and Robert

Grant, “Employer-sponsored health insurance: whats offered; whats chosen?,” Monthly Labor Review, October 1995, pp. 38-44.

3 Take-up rates were introduced into the NCS in March 2005.

4 Although access estimates were introduced in 2003, estimates of access to paid sick leave were published only from 2004 onward.

5 For more information, see exhibit.

6 Despite the fact that the NCS collects data on employer costs of paid sick leave, which is related to the use of this benefit, no data on the use

of sick leave are available from the NCS.

7 For the NCS, retirement benefits consist of two kinds of plans: defined contribution plans and defined benefit (or traditional pension) plans.

To compute data on retirement benefits in general, regardless of type, the NCS uses an algorithm designed to ensure that workers

participating in both a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan will not be double counted. For more information, see the Bureau of

Labor Statistics Handbook of Methods. 8 Estimates of access to defined benefit plans were affected less by the change in definition of access than were estimates of access to

defined contribution plans, perhaps because participation in defined benefit plans is typically automatic, so we are more likely to have

participants and therefore count all workers as having access. This is not true for defined contribution plan, which often requires a contribution

to participate.

9 The March 2008 estimates for access to defined contribution plans for the West North Central census division did not meet publication

criteria.

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