Given the growing importance employees place on retirement security, it comes as little surprise that they are beginning to view competitive retirement and health plans as a significant differentiator when making decisions about where to work and how long to stay with their employer. In an environment in which talented employees are difficult to lure from stable jobs, the right benefit plans could give employers the competitive edge they need.
The economic crisis compelled employees to rethink their attitudes toward risk. The second brief in our Retirement Attitudes series shows that even in a somewhat brighter economic climate, employees continue to be wary about their long-term retirement prospects. As a result, they are postponing their retirement, spending less, saving more and are more willing to pay for guaranteed benefits in the future.
Key Findings
The survey found that:
40% of workers plan to retire later than they did two years ago.
More than three-quarters of older workers plan to spend less in retirement than they are spending today.
Employees are more willing to pay a higher amount for certainty in their retirement and health care benefits compared to 15 months ago.
Employees across all age groups and plan types are willing to trade higher pay increases for more generous retirement benefits and more predictable health care benefit costs.
The Towers Watson Retirement Attitudes survey was conducted in May and June of 2010 and includes responses from 9,080 full-time U.S. employees at nongovernment organizations. In this brief, the first in a series of three, primary results reflect a subset of questions about retirement and health care programs completed by 3,099 respondents.
Key Findings:
The survey found that:
More than half of employees across all ages report significant declines in their savings over the last two years.
Employee confidence in having enough savings to live comfortably in retirement has recovered from February 2009 levels, but remains well below precrisis levels.
While confidence is higher for those who participate in a defined benefit (DB) plan rather than a defined contribution (DC) plan, such as a 401(k), more younger employees are beginning to express concerns about their DB plans.
Copyright 2012 Towers Watson. All rights reserved.