The EBRI is an independent institute, representing no particular special interest or ideological perspective.[7] Its membership includes a broad range of benefit-related organizations that often have differing policy goals.
As well, the EBRI maintains the largest 401(k) microdatabase in the nation that tracks individual 401(k) participant investment activity.[8] EBRI researchers have been frequently asked to testify about their research before Congress on a variety of retirement, health, savings, and economic security issues.[9]
The EBRI was founded in 1978 by a group of benefits-related companies following enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the major federal law governing private-sector benefits. It is based on three principles: That employee benefit plans serve an essential function in the United States economy by providing citizens with opportunities to achieve financial security; an ongoing need exists for objective, unbiased information regarding the employee benefits system; and that its members’ common business interests will be furthered by having the Institute develop and disseminate such information.[10]
The EBRI publishes data on trends and characteristics of health insurance coverage and the uninsured,[17] and how the type of health plans offered to workers have been changing in the private sector.[18] It has also quantified the amount of money that single men, single women, and married couples will need to save to pay for out-of-pocket health care in retirement.[19]
In conjunction with the Investment Company Institute (ICI),[20] EBRI created and operates the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database,[21] the largest microdatabase of its kind in the nation tracking individual 401(k) participants.[22] EBRI also tracks the growing importance of individual-account retirement plans such as 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).[23]
Using its Retirement Security Projection Model, EBRI has published detailed analysis showing likely retirement income adequacy levels for Americans by age and income.[24] It has also reported likely results if deficit reduction efforts in Congress reduce or eliminate existing tax preferences for 401(k)s.[25]
The EBRI’s Social Security modeling allows it to quantify the impact of various reform proposals. Its 1998 analysis was the first in-depth look at the many administrative issues involved with adding private accounts to Social Security,[26] at the time a major policy proposal.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence Survey,[27] which began in 1990, is the longest-running annual retirement survey of its kind in the nation. Its annual Workplace Wellness Survey asks questions to employees about workplace-based benefits.[28] The EBRI Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey provides national data on the growth of consumer-driven health plans and high-deductible health plans.[18][29][30]
Previously, through its Education and Research Fund (ERF), EBRI operated the Choose to Save national public education and outreach campaign,[31] and the American Savings Education Council,[32] a national coalition of public- and private-sector organizations that promote saving.
As part of its Choose to Save initiative, EBRI developed the Ballpark Estimate for ASEC,[33] a two-page worksheet that identifies a person’s general savings target for a comfortable retirement. It is used as the retirement calculator for federal employees on the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Ballpark E$timate website[34] and also by the U.S. Thrift Savings Plan on its website.[35] In 2023, the Employee Benefit Research Institute relaunched a new version of its Ballpark E$timate online retirement planning tool.
