Employers Must Offer Benefits Beyond Retirement Plan Access
New findings from NFP highlight an untapped opportunity for retirement plan advisors.
Results from the benefit consultant’s 2025 NFP U.S. Retirement Trend Report found a serious gap in the number of employees who engage with advisors. While 89% of employees say they trust professionals, only 41% work with them.
The lack of engagement doesn’t just fall on participants, NFP finds—it extends to employers as well. Only 36% of surveyed employees say they have access to one-on-one meetings with financial advisors through their employer.
“The issue isn’t a lack of effort,” said Jessica Espinoza, national practice leader of Retirement Advisory at NFP. “Two in five workers are either deprioritizing retirement or unable to save at all. Even among those trying to save, most aren’t sure what ‘on track’ actually looks like.”
Others remain unaware of the benefits their employers provide. Forty-five percent of surveyed employees aren’t aware of their company’s retirement plan features, and one quarter say they “fully” understand the available investment options.
This is as 86% of plan sponsors report offering at least one investment vehicle and 73% provide 401(k) plans, NFP reports.
Over three-quarters (76%) of those who are aware of the features actively engage with the benefits, highlighting a critical need for education, employer contributions or savings matches, and long-term incentive opportunities, NFP reports.
“Access alone isn’t enough,” added Espinoza. “When employees understand their benefits, they’re far more likely to use them. Awareness and education are just as important as the benefits themselves.”
How participants feel when they meet with advisors is also integral to their engagement, the report finds. Most are likely to engage if they feel comfortable during meetings, if the environment is in a private setting, and if the advisor is flexible. Participants were likelier to prefer online educational resources (58%) and one-on-one advisor meetings (57%).
Other approaches include offering digital tools for employees to discover on their own time, supplementing one-one-one support with on-demand learning, inviting spouses or partners to participate when appropriate, and providing a sense of what participants should expect from their interactions with advisors, suggests NFP.
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with nearly a decade of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado.
