NU Online News Service, Jan. 25, 3:18 p.m. EST

A stunning 4 percent of employers are very confident that their employees will have sufficient retirement funds when they retire, according to an Aon Hewitt survey.

In a survey of more than 500 employers conducted in October 2011, Aon Hewitt says it found “employer confidence in their ability to influence employee decisions and/or actions has eroded.”

In a statement Pamela Hess, director of Retirement Research at Aon Hewitt, says. “The stark drop in the confidence of employers is troubling. We've known for a while that workers weren't saving enough for retirement, but it seems that with continued tough economic times, employers are realizing just how dire the situation has become for much of their workforce. Fortunately, they're not sitting idly by—they're actively taking steps to help their employees get on a better path.”

The report, “2012 Hot Topics in Retirement: Waning Confidence and the Need for Continued Innovation,” found that, among employers, 10 percent of plan sponsors feel very confident that employees would take accountability for their own retirement success. Eighteen percent of employers say they feel very confident that workers will be able to manage their income during retirement.

The survey finds that many employers are trying to help employees with their retirement.

Sixty percent of employers say they are placing more emphasis on helping employees understand the employer-sponsored resources available to them.
Fifty-two percent focus on encouraging workers to take greater accountability for their own retirement success.
Forty-four percent of plan sponsors rate helping employees retire with sufficient assets as a top priority.

More and more employers are abandoning pensions in favor of defined contribution plans, Aon Hewitt says. Among some of the issues employers are finding: employees are not saving enough to reach the employer match where workers are subject to automatic enrollment in a defined contribution plan.

“Automatic enrollment alone isn't enough to get workers where they need to be,” says Hess. “Plan sponsors need to step it up by encouraging employees to save at a higher rate. Adding features such as contribution escalation to get workers saving at least at the employer match level—or ideally even more—is key to helping them meet their savings goals.”

Employers are also adding features that are aimed at helping employees understand how much they need to put away for retirement and even what their spending levels can be in retirement.

Ultimately, employees are finding that their retirement financing options are becoming more limited.

“Once, workers could count on a steady income stream throughout their retirement years,” says Hess. “Now, more people are relying exclusively on their [defined contribution] plan for their retirement savings and that regular paycheck has disappeared, leaving many employees struggling to effectively balance retirement expenses. Employers recognize this challenge and are adding features and resources to help workers manage their savings.”

Special Reports /

Employers Say Employees Not Prepared to Retire

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