Despite being more benefits rarity than reality, a new Towers Watson analysis finds that the traditional defined benefit retirement plans of yesteryear still hold favor among job-seekers, particularly younger workers who have shown waning hope in their retirement futures.
Three-fourths of America’s younger workers say an employer-sponsored retirement program is important for either joining or staying with an employer, which has jumped sharply in the past two years, especially at employers that still offer a pension plan, according to a survey by Towers Watson. TW finds that among workers younger than age 40 whose employer offers a defined benefit pension plan, the percentage who agreed their retirement program was an important factor in accepting their job more than doubled from 28% in 2009 to 63% in 2011. That compares with a nine-percentage-point gain (19% to 28%) for younger employees at organizations that offer only a defined contribution plan.
