The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that access to employer-based benefits continues to depend on a worker’s income level, with high-wage earners having greater access to workplace benefits compared to lower-wage workers.
Analyzing March 2009 data, BLS researchers found that 31% of workers in the lowest 10% of the national earnings range had access to defined-contribution retirement plans, In contrast, 68% of workers in the highest 10% earnings category had access to the plans. In fact, only 13% of the lowest paid workers participated in their DC plan, compared with 55% for the highest paid workers.
“One likely reason for the lower defined contribution take-up rates for lower-wage workers is that such plans frequently require employee contributions. Seventy-two percent of workers in the lowest wage category were required to contribute, compared to 66% for the highest wage earners," the survey brief explains.
On the health-care benefit side, 26% of workers in the lowest wage category had access to medical benefits, compared with 92% in the highest wage category.
Other key findings include:
- For single coverage of medical care premiums, employers contributed 85% of the cost for high-paid workers and 75% for the lowest paid, comparable contributions for family coverage were 76% and 61%.
- For single coverage, workers in the top 10% of the earnings range paid about $11 a month less than the lowest paid workers ($85.47 compared with $96.89), and the employer contributed nearly $100 a month more for the highest paid over he lowest paid ($344.14 compared with $248.09).
- The family coverage estimates showed a huge gap in employer contributions based on earnings, where the monthly worker contribution was about $60 less for the high paid over the low paid ($319.72 compared with $379.53), while the employer contributed an average of about $280 a month more for the high paid ($843.06 compared with $560.24).
