And although employees in the private sector are glad to be able to move their accounts when they switch employers, the report said, far too many don’t — instead, they cash out their plans and end up short when it comes time to retire.

Defined benefit plans, in contrast, aren’t necessarily viewed as being portable — but the report said that wasn’t necessarily the case. Many public pension plans, it said “have adopted features that allow individuals who change jobs to retain and even increase their benefits.”

Another difference between defined contribution and defined benefit plans is the voluntary nature of the former, with employees usually having to opt in — although the use of auto enrollment is growing. But nearly all public pension plans, the report said, “consistently require employees to contribute toward the cost of their retirement benefits as soon as they start working, and to continue with every paycheck.”

Then there’s the annuitized nature of defined benefit plan benefits — something that the defined contribution market is working to catch up on. In addition, there’s the question of whether private sector employees have access to a retirement plan at all — the paper said that just 55 percent of private sector wage and salary workers between the ages of 25 and 64 had access to a retirement plan at work in 2013.

The study did not address the funded levels of any public pensions — something that’s made headlines for the precarious nature of many plans’ finances. Membership in Washington, D.C.-based National Institute on Retirement Security is comprised of financial services firms, employee benefit plans, trade associations and other retirement service providers.