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Workers willing to trade PTO, promotions for guaranteed retirement income

What would it take for you to trade current riches for future guarantees? I don’t often think in hypothetical terms, but when I consider those kinds of trades, it’s usually in terms of what I’d give up now to know for certain that my kids would grow up happy, secure and successful — or other future outcomes that largely are out of my control. 
When I read results from Towers Watson’s recent Global Workforce Study that shows almost half of U.S. workers (49%) are willing to trade paid time off and future career advancement opportunities for guaranteed retirement benefits, I wondered if maybe they felt the same way: Do employees think a secure retirement largely is out of their control? 
Perhaps. 
According to TW, less than half of employees (46%) are comfortable they will be able to manage their financial resources to provide for their retirement needs; only a third (34%) feel comfortable managing their health care needs in retirement. Further, while 45% feel confident they have enough financial resources to live comfortably 15 years into retirement, only 29% feel the same way 25 years into retirement.
That’s in line with findings from the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey that show just 14% of respondents are very confident they’ll be able to finance a secure retirement, an all-time low in the 20 years the Employee Benefit Research Institute has been conducting the survey.
Still, new numbers from Fidelity show that 401(k) balances—obviously the primary retirement-savings vehicle—are at an all-time high. 
EBN (@EBNmagazine) asked recently on twitter: How can both things be true? How can retirement savings be at an all-time high, but confidence at an all-time low?
“My guess: Incredible stress/paranoia about not having enough money [is] fueling increased boomer savings,” tweeted Suzanne Woolley via @WealthWatch.
What’s your theory on why employees are saving more, but still are more fearful — so much so that they’re willing to trade career advancement for guaranteed income? Share your thoughts in the comments.  What would it take for you to trade current riches for future guarantees? I don’t often think in hypothetical terms, but when I consider those kinds of trades, it’s usually in terms of what I’d give up now to know for certain that my kids would grow up happy, secure and successful — or other future outcomes that largely are out of my control. 

 

When I read results from Towers Watson’s recent Global Workforce Study that shows almost half of U.S. workers (49%) are willing to trade paid time off and future career advancement opportunities for guaranteed retirement benefits, I wondered if maybe they felt the same way: Do employees think a secure retirement largely is out of their control? 

Perhaps. 

According to TW, less than half of employees (46%) are comfortable they will be able to manage their financial resources to provide for their retirement needs; only a third (34%) feel comfortable managing their health care needs in retirement. Further, while 45% feel confident they have enough financial resources to live comfortably 15 years into retirement, only 29% feel the same way 25 years into retirement.

That’s in line with findings from the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey that show just 14% of respondents are very confident they’ll be able to finance a secure retirement, an all-time low in the 20 years the Employee Benefit Research Institute has been conducting the survey.

Still, new numbers from Fidelity show that 401(k) balances — obviously the primary retirement-savings vehicle — are at an all-time high. 

EBN (@EBNmagazine) asked recently on twitter: How can both things be true? How can retirement savings be at an all-time high, but confidence at an all-time low?

“My guess: Incredible stress/paranoia about not having enough money [is] fueling increased boomer savings,” tweeted Suzanne Woolley via @WealthWatch.

What’s your theory on why employees are saving more, but still are more fearful — so much so that they’re willing to trade career advancement for guaranteed income? Share your thoughts in the comments.  

 

 

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