Ben Steverman of Bloomberg reports that “Employers cut their contributions to workers’ retirements by a quarter from 2001 to 2015…The biggest driver: the decline of traditional defined-benefit pensions, replaced by stingier, 401(k)-style, defined-contribution plans.” According to a survey by the firm Willis Towers Watson, employer contributions to retirement plans fell from 9.1 percent of worker pay in 2001 to just 6.8 percent in 2015. Just another day in the ongoing retirement crisis, right? In fact, federal government data show precisely the opposite: both employer contributions and total retirement funding have never been higher.

The Willis Towers Watson survey covers 500 businesses with 200 or more employers. These are the mid-size to larger employers that consult with a firm like Willis Towers Watson. The survey found that employers dramatically cut how much they pay toward traditional pensions and retiree health care, with those cuts only partially offset by higher employer contributions into workers’ 401(k) plans. The result, Bloomberg concludes, is that “Americans are more worried about retirement, and they’re getting less help saving for it.”

But there’s good news: national-level data covering employers of all sizes shows a very different story. In fact, employer contributions toward retirement plans have never been higher. Moreover, since employees contribute to 401(k) – something they didn’t do back when traditional pensions were dominant – total retirement savings are higher than ever.

Read full news here:  Forbes