Employer-sponsored private-sector defined benefit (DB) plans have been on the decline for many years as U.S. employers have shifted to defined contribution (DC) retirement plans. Just 17% of private-sector employees had only a DB plan or both a DB and DC plan as of March 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Meanwhile, 51% are enrolled in a DC plan. (Thirty-two percent have neither.)
Among the private-sector DB plans still in existence, different stages in their lifecycles can be identified. As of March 1, 2017, according to other BLS data:
- 63% of employees in pension plans were in active plans;
- 25% were in soft-freeze plans (closed to new hires); and
- 12% were in frozen plans.