Survey Shows Half Have Not Calculated Retirement Needs

Comparisons between federal employees and private-sector workers are difficult to make, in part because the federal workforce skews heavily toward white-collar jobs that require college degrees.

As of June 30, the average TSP account balance was $61,221 for participants covered by FERS, a spokesman said. The average account balance was $52,356 for employees covered by the older CSRS.

For 2004, the latest year for which data are available, the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated that the average 401(k) account balance for all private-sector workers was $56,878. Half of the participants had account balances less than $19,926, while half had more, EBRI found.

An EBRI survey in January found that 18 percent of all workers had savings of $150,00 or more, compared with 27 percent of the federal employees in the OPM survey.

Both surveys looked at savings by sub-groups. In the EBRI survey, for example, 26 percent of workers in the 45-to-54 age group said they had savings of $150,000 or more. Thirty-three percent of federal employees who identified themselves as in mid-career and who make more than $50,000 annually reported savings of at least $150,000.

The OPM data were gathered between May and September 2005 through an Internet survey of 7,294 federal workers. The survey was designed to obtain sufficient responses from across the government, including minority and lower-income employees, OPM said.

Stephen Barr's e-mail address isbarrs@washpost.com.