According to a new study, 71% of employed Americans say they’re more likely to stay with their current employer if they’re offered an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.
The number, from Voya Financial’s second-quarter retirement report, is up significantly from October 2022, when just 60% of employees said the same. The latest research surveys over 1,000 individuals on the importance of employer-sponsored benefits, including a retirement plan, and asks about the impact inflation has had on employees’ future savings needs.
Voya found that retirement savings are top of mind for many Americans right now. Among respondents with a retirement plan, 81% said continuing to make contributions to their retirement plan is extremely important or important. That number increases for those with a managed account (85%) versus those without (64%).
Current economic conditions might be playing a role in their thinking. Fully 75% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat agree that they worry about the impact of inflation on their ability to save enough for retirement, with this worry trending even higher for those with student loans (88%). What’s more, over half of Gen X (58%) and Millennials (51%) either strongly or somewhat agree that they won’t be able to save for retirement, found Voya.
Another 88% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat agree that they feel like their money does not go as far as it used to go, and nearly half—43%—said they strongly or somewhat agree that they won’t ever be able to save enough for their retirement.
Many of the respondents cited financial reasons as drivers for sticking with their employer. Americans said they’re more likely to stay with an employer who offers:
- Competitive salary (75%)
- Flexible work hours (70%)
- Ways to improve their financial wellness (61%)
- Physical health benefits/programs (61%)
- Financial wellness benefits/programs (61%)
And more than half of respondents (51%) said they’d be more likely to stay with an employer if they were offered education, guidance, tools, and resources to help them reach their retirement goals. This is a higher draw for those with a student loan (63%) than those without (48%).
Other findings in the Voya research show that Americans want more benefits related to retirement planning. Eighty-nine percent of respondents say having a guaranteed source of income in retirement so they don’t outlive their retirement savings is extremely important or important, while 75% of individuals place importance in receiving guidance on optimizing retirement savings and workplace benefits.
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Black and Latino Employees Experience Lower Levels of Financial Confidence: Voya