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5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years

5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years
The premier resource in the field of Form 5500 preparation, 5500 Preparer's Manual will help you handle the required annual Form 5500 filings for both pension benefits and welfare benefit plans.

CCH® PENSION — 11/15/06

Pension Plan Assets Increased To $4.2 Trillion In 2003, According To EBSA Report

Retirement plan assets increased to $4.2 trillion in 2003 (up from $3.6 trillion in 2002), reversing a three-year decline in assets and nearing the 1999 high of $4.4 trillion. Defined benefit plan assets increased by 16.5% to $1.9 trillion, while defined contribution plan assets increased by 18.2% to $2.3 trillion. 401(k) plan assets increased by 22.2% to $1.9 trillion. These are among the findings of the Private Pension Plan Bulletin: Abstract of 2003 Form 5500 Annual Reports, recently released by the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

In its report, the EBSA initially notes, “Over the past three decades, as the private pension system has shifted from defined benefit plans toward 401(k)-type defined contribution plans, the financing of benefits has shifted from employers to participants. In 1978, when legislation was enacted authorizing 401(k)-type plans that allow employees to contribute on a pretax basis, 29% of contributions to defined contribution plans, and only 11% of total contributions to all defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, were contributed by participants. The percent of contributions made by the employee to defined contribution plans has doubled since then, but has remained steady at 60% for the past five years.”

According to the EBSA, “The total percent of employee contributions to defined benefit and defined contribution plans has actually fallen over the last five years, from 52% in 1999 to 38% in 2003. This is due to the continued increase in employer contributions to defined benefit plans, which increased by 40.2% to $117.2 billion in 2003.”

Other Findings

Other findings from Form 5500 series annual reports for the 2003 plan year include the following:

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.

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