United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-10-03 monographic deposited born digital 42 p. GA 1.13:GGD-97-1 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1 P0b002ee1803974f4 f:gg97001 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1 GGD-97-1 Federal employee retirement programs Retirement pensions Federal employees Retirement benefits Administrative costs Employee retirement plans Non-government enterprises Civil service pensions Social Security Program Civil Service Retirement System Federal Employees Retirement System Letter Report GGD

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) numbers and types of pension plans sponsored by private employers from 1984 to 1993; (2) proportions of total contributions made to these plans; (3) average administrative expense for these plans; and (4) reasons employers sponsor certain types of pension plans.<p/>GAO found that: (1) 88 percent of private employers with single-employer pension plans sponsored defined contribution plans in 1993; (2) the percentage of employers that offered defined contribution plans exclusively decreased from 24 to 9 percent during 1984 to 1993, and the employers offering both defined contribution and defined benefit plans decreased from 8 to 3 percent during that same period; (3) the percentage of employers with 2,500 or more employees sponsoring both types of pension plans increased during this period and nearly half of these employers continued to sponsor defined benefit plans in 1993; (4) most private employers did not require their employees to contribute to defined benefit plans; (5) employers were willing to provide a greater proportion of total contributions for employees that only participated in defined contribution plans; (6) the average administrative expense per participant was lower for employers that offered only defined contribution plans; and (7) private employers prefer defined contribution plans because they offer fewer complex government regulations, are less likely to be terminated for capital assets, and allow employees' to retain their pension benefits if they change jobs. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1.pdf GAO/GGD-97-1 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-1 Letter Report GAO/GGD-97-1; Private Pensions: Most Employers That Offer Pensions Use Defined Contribution Plans; Federal employee retirement programs Retirement pensions Federal employees Retirement benefits Administrative costs Employee retirement plans Non-government enterprises Civil service pensions Social Security Program Civil Service Retirement System Federal Employees Retirement System Title 31 Section 9503 31 U.S.C. 9503