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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Washington research organization earns reputation as pension 'go-to guy' for industry and government
WASHINGTON - The nation in December will get its first complete look at the anticipated shortfall in retirement income for 121 million Americans retiring before 2031 when a small but influential research organization unveils a groundbreaking study.
The research, conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, is being billed as the national retirement income adequacy model.
The study is just one example of the nimbleness of the research organization, which turns 25 next month. It prides itself on its independence and has developed a reputation for being both intimately involved in researching current retirement issues and anticipating trends.
The organization founded by the key employee benefit consulting firms at the time to fill a vacuum in data on defined benefit pension plans - plunged into research on defined contribution plans after the surge in 401(k) retirement plans. Thus, since 1996 EBRI has developed the single largest database of 401(k) plan participants in conjunction with the Investment Company Institute, the Washington-based mutual fund trade association. The database contains information about 14.6 million active participants in 48,786 retirement plans with $632.7 billion - more than one-third of all assets held in 401(k) plans at the end of 2001.
EBRI's retirement income adequacy study began in Oregon in September 2001 and was expanded in 2002 to include residents of Massachusetts and Kansas. It is being expanded nationwide to track the gap between the retirement income and expenses of the 121 million working and retired Americans in all 50 states over the next five years.
Interest piqued
Already, more than half a dozen lawmakers have expressed interest in the findings and the implications for the private pension system, Social Security,...