Market, Longevity Risks Still Top of Mind for Workers

Dial noted, however, that four in 10 baby boomers among workers surveyed and 3 in 10 Gen Xers and millennials have advisors who could help them plan for retirement. Men were likelier than women to work with an advisor, use advice software or both.

Perceptions of Employers

Ninety percent of participants at least somewhat agreed that retirement plans are highly valued benefits. The workers most likely to strongly agree were men, those with household incomes of $100,000 or more and those with assets of at least $500,000. 

Although four in 10 said they want a “kick in the pants” or a “strong nudge” to save more, boomers were likelier than millennials and Gen Xers to be among the 22% who said they want to be left alone.

Employer matches are important to workers. The survey showed that 80% of boomers, 69% of Gen Xers and 59% of millennials prefer an employer match over a salary increase, whatever the percentage. And 82% of participants said they would rather have an employer contribution to retirement savings than help with education costs.

Automatic plan features also intrigue participants. Two out of 3 believe companies should have automatic enrollment with a 6% default rate, and some six in 10 believe employers should both automatically enroll and automatically increase the rate each year. 

In addition, four in 10 respondents said enrollment, contributions and default investments should be completely automatic for everyone. Men, those with incomes of more than $100,000 and those assets of at least $500,000, in particular, favor automatic options.

Pandemic Aftereffects

“We weren’t surprised to see that, following a year of the pandemic, participants are now more optimistic about saving, risk and expectations for the future,” Dial said.

Indeed, workers in the survey gave themselves higher grades on saving for retirement this year — an average of B-minus versus a C-plus in 2020 and a C-minus in 2019. 

Asked about their future in retirement, men tended to be more excited about pursuing hobbies, while women were more excited about travel. Moreover, paying off debt of all kinds, including longer-term credit cards and student loans, is a lower priority this year than it was last year.

Risk concerns diminished somewhat from 2020, with worries about outliving retirement savings falling to 58% from 63% last year; inflation and interest rate risk decreasing to 49% from 53%; and market risk worries going down to 51% from 61%.

“In short, we saw that investing for retirement is a priority for participants regardless of age, that employers are having a positive impact on accumulating assets, workers are now looking for help in withdrawing assets and that optimism is on the rise,” Dial said.