The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) says the number of American workers participating in an employment-based retirement plan has increased slightly, although the level of participation is down slightly.
Using the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, EBRI found that the number of workers participating in an employment-based retirement plan ticked up to 61.6 million last year from 61 million in 2011. However, the percentage of those who participated dropped slightly to 39.4% in 2012 from 39.7% a year earlier.
The EBRI report notes that retirement plan participation by workers is strongly tied to macroeconomic factors such as stock market returns and the labour market. The stronger macroeconomic conditions of the late 1990s produced higher levels of participation, while less positive macroeconomic conditions of the 2000s led to lower levels of participation.
“The current economic environment is likely to result in 2013 participation numbers that are very similar to 2012 with the potential for a slight increase, though many other underlying factors will continue to affect the future direction of this trend,” says Craig Copeland, senior research associate at EBRI and author of the report.