Data and Research

Research reveals times to ‘nudge’ employees into saving for retirement and ways to make it easy for them to do so.

Many would welcome automatic enrollment and automatic increases.

Nationally, the median income for those who are 65 and older is just 60% of the median income seen among 45- to 64-year-olds. 

A study found households do increase their 401(k) saving when children leave, but only by 0.3 to 0.7 percentage points.

However, Americans are not proactively addressing the financial implications of living longer in retirement.

While all generations can benefit from financial wellness education, each generation learns differently and has different challenges, and Gen X is especially vulnerable.

The decrease could be, in part, due to a different composition of plan investments.

More than 48% of survey respondents indicated they are either considering transferring, or are very likely to transfer, pension risk this year.

Roughly three in five recommend those younger than them start saving earlier in their career (63%) or save more throughout their career (57%).

More employers have adopted a broader view of workforce health that includes physical, mental, emotional and financial health, a survey finds.

Even those who have met their 80% income replacement goal will need more to cover all health care expenses, a study finds.

 

Pension beneficiaries keep receiving their pension checks in good as well as bad economic times, making them an important driver of market stability. 

 

More DC plans are embracing alternatives.

Seventy-five percent of Americans say they have regrets about financial decisions, a survey finds.

Americans now expect to retire on average at age 66, up from age 64 in 2008.

According to the Federal Reserve, student loan debt now totals over $1.3 trillion.

Participants must consider how they will spend down retirement assets, and converting their saved sum into projected “leisure hours” is an effective way to get the conversation going.

Savings grow with compound interest, but there is a compound effect on fees which reduces the amount of assets that can be invested and grow.

Defined contribution retirement plans are a constant subject of research and analysis, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to describe with real accuracy.

The GAO found many individual and employer decisions can substantially raise projected DC plan savings at retirement, especially for low-earning households.