Men’s HSA account balances far outpace women’s
Originally posted June 19, 2014 by Dan Cook on www.benefitspro.com.
Women, on average, don't have as much money in their health savings accounts than do men. This nugget is among the findings of an Employee Benefit Research Institute study, which was conducted on the 10th anniversary of the creation of HSAs.
At the end of 2013, men had an average of $2,326 in their account, while women had $1,526, EBRI said.
While the male-vs.-female gap went unexplained by the researchers, that output was perhaps the most surprising to come from the study. Other findings were more or less in line with expectations about those who choose HSAs to pay for their health care.
EBRI reported that older individuals have considerably more money in their accounts that do younger HSA users: Those under 25 had an average of $697, while those ages 55-64 $3,780 those 65 or older had an average account balance of $4,460.
Younger ones used a small percent of their account balances for health-related expenditures, and they also tended to take fewer distributions from their accounts that did older individuals. Yet at a certain age, the likelihood of a distribution fell significantly.
“The likelihood of taking a distribution increased from 44 percent among individuals under age 25, to 66 percent among those ages 35–44 and 45–54,” EBRI said in a release. “That likelihood dipped slightly (to 64 percent) among those ages 55–64 and still further (to 49 percent) among those ages 65 and older.”
“The decline in the average amount distributed, as well as the likelihood of there being a distribution for health care claims at older ages, may have been a reflection of fewer people covered by the HSA-eligible health plan as fewer dependent children are covered by older account owners,” said Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s health research and education program, and author of the report.
Other findings:
- The average HSA balance at the end of 2013 was $1,766, up from $1,280 at the beginning of the year;
- On average, individuals who made contributions deposited $2,032 to their account. HSAs receiving employer contributions received $1,184, on average;
- Four-fifths of HSAs with a contribution also had a distribution for a health care claim during 2013;
- Looking at HSAs with claims, the average amount distributed for health care claims in 2013 was $1,953.
Input for the study came from data collected from HSA providers with total assets of $2.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2013. This represents 14 percent of the universe of HSAs and 14 percent of HSA assets, EBRI said.
Workforce aging as boomers stay on the job
Originally posted April 16, 2014 on www.benefitspro.com by Dan Cook.
There's certainly no shortage of advice on managing millennials in the workforce. But when it comes to sheer numbers, baby boomers remain the dominant generation, thanks in large part to that generation's working women.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute has further quantified boomers’ role in the workforce by crunching data found in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. EBRI's report, “Labor-force Participation Rates of the Population Ages 55 and Older, 2013,” reveals that more than 40 percent of today’s workers are age 55 or older. Additionally, participation has been increasing among the oldest age groups — those 60-64 and 65 and older.
The study found that the participation by those 55 and older steadily fell from 1975 to 1993, bottoming out at 29.4 percent. Then, the trend reversed. The current peak participation by this age group occurred in 2012, when 40.5 percent of all workers were 55 or older. That percent dropped to 40.3 percent last year.
Working older women account for much of the trend.
”The increase in labor-force participation for the age groups below age 65 was primarily driven by the increases in female labor-force participation rates, as the male labor-force participation rates of those ages 55–59 and 60–64 were lower in 2013 than they were in 1975,” the study said. “In contrast, female labor-force participation rates for those ages 55–59 and 60–64 increased sharply from 1975–2013, despite some leveling off in 2010–2013.”
EBRI said women ages 55 to 64 comprised 47.9 percent of that age group in 1975. By 2013, they made up 67.2 percent of workers in the category. Other older worker subgroups showed the same trend, with the number of women increasing vs. men.
When viewed strictly by age rather than gender, the participation of younger workers declined between 1997 and 2012 as that of their elders increased.
“In 1997, workers ages 25–54 accounted for 83.9 percent of all workers ages 25 or older, while those ages 55-64 accounted for 12 percent, and those ages 65 or older, 4.1 percent. By 2012, those ages 55-64 represented 19.2 percent, and those 65 or older 7 percent, while the percentage of workers 25 or older represented by those ages 25-54 had fallen to 73.8 percent,” EBRI reported.
“The upward trend in labor-force participation by older workers is likely related to workers’ current need for continued access to employment-based health insurance and for more years of earnings to accumulate savings in defined contribution (401(k)-type) plans and/or to pay down debt,” said Craig Copeland, senior research associate at EBRI and author of the report. “Many Americans also want to work longer, especially those with more education for whom more meaningful jobs are available that can be performed into older ages.”
There may be a downside to this trend, Copeland noted.
“The data raise a basic question: Are older workers filling the void or displacing opportunities for younger workers?” Copeland said. “The fact is, older workers are more plentiful in the labor force today, whether a result of financial circumstances related to the lack of sufficient or adequate accumulation of resources for retirement or because of the desire to continue to remain actively engaged and productive.”