Dive Brief:
- Americans don’t know if they can retire as planned and they’re worried, says the Washington Post. Slightly more than half the respondents, 51%, in the Addison Group’s Third Annual Workplace Survey, said they’re concerned that they won’t be able to retire from the workforce when they’re ready.
- The survey found that women were more worried than men; just 43% felt financially secure enough to retire. The survey also found generational differences among the respondents. Baby boomers (55%) and Gen Xers (58%) worried the most about financial security in retirement, while older Millennials (53%) and younger Millennials (61%) felt confident about a financially secure retirement.
- When comparing their retirement prospects with their parents, 55% of boomers and about 50% of Gen Xers felt they would have to retire after their parents did. About 35% thought they would retire the same time as their parents did and 18% believed they would retire younger.
Dive Insight:
The greatest impediment to a financially secure retirement is inadequate savings. When employers offer retirement savings plans, workers who sign up will worry less about not being able to retire when they choose.
Employees — including millennials — want financial education and counseling. In fact, a Metlife study titled Millennial Report showed that this employee group were more reliant on their employers for financial advice than previous generations.
HR can bring experts into the workplace for financial planning sessions, provide online seminars to help employees understand their plan options and provide retirement savings information through HRMS that they can access 24/7.
