4 reasons Americans are unprepared for retirement

Published Updated 2 Min Read

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From middle-age caregivers to recent graduates, the idea of reaching retirement — and being prepared for it — is stressing out just about every demographic of the workforce. Despite their different life stages, the one thing they have in common is a desire for additional support. 

Whether through programs to help employees pay off student loans (without sacrificing their retirement efforts) or making financial education a core part of a company’s culture, there are a number of proven ways employers can go about helping their workforce prepare for the future.  

Read: The new urgency for mitigating 401(k) account cash-outs

A robust job market means more job switching — which can be bad for retirement savings. The research report Cashing Out Retirement Savings at Job Separation, released in April by the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia (UBC), reviewed data for 162,360 U.S. workers who left jobs at 28 U.S. companies, and found that 41.4% of those employees chose to prematurely cash out savings from their 401(k) accounts when they left their employers. 

Paola Peralta
Associate Editor

Paola Peralta is an Associate Editor at Employee Benefit News and has been with the team for five years. She is a proud UCF journalism graduate who got her start through a Dow Jones News Fund … Read full bio


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