[Accessibility Information]

Related BLS programs | Related articles

December 1988, Vol. 111, No. 12

The comparative value of pensions
in the public and private sectors

Lora Mills Lovejoy
Economist, Division of Occupational Pay and Employee Benefit Levels, Bureau of Labor Statistics

State and local governments generally provide more generous pensions than does private industry; part of the disparity can be explained by the greater likelihood of public sector workers to contribute toward the cost of their benefits. This article discusses key features of pension plans in private industry and in State and local governments and contrasts the proportion of preretirement earnings replaced by plans in the two sectors.

Read excerpt  Download full article in PDF (670K)

Related BLS programs

Employee Benefits Survey

National Compensation Survey

Related Monthly Labor Review articles

On the disparity between private and public pensions.—Apr. 1994.