Coverage patterns of full-time employees under private retirement plans

This article reports on the pension plan participation rate of full-time private wage and salary workers. Data are from a May 1979 Bureau of the Census survey on the pension plan coverage and vesting status of employed workers. The survey results indicate that about half of all full-time private sector workers were covered by a pension plan, with male employees having a 55-percent coverage rate compared with 40 percent for female employees. The survey also found significant variations in coverage by such factors as age, tenure, industry, size of establishment, occupation, income, and membership in a collective bargaining unit. The relationships between coverage and these variables are examined and comparisons are made between the May 1979 survey findings and the findings from a similar survey on coverage status conducted in April 1972.