U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration: abstract of 1998 Form 5500 annual reports, Private Pension Plan Bulletin No. 11, June 2002. (Industry Insights).(Brief Article)

Editor's Note: This is the eleventh edition of the Private Pension Plan Bulletin, which is based on the 1998 Form 5500 filings.

Since the early and mid-1980s, the number of 401(k) plans has grown at a rate that in 15 years has led them to dominate the private pension system by providing primary or supplemental plan coverage to about 70 percent of all pension-covered workers.

With an overwhelming share of the growth in pension plan coverage over the last 15 to 20 years occurring under 401(k)-type plans, the percentage of the pension covered workforce participating in defined benefit plans (DB) has been in a slow but continuous decline. In 1998, an estimated 44 …