Data & Research

For the 10th consecutive year, their top financial resolution for the New Year is to save more, Fidelity learned in a survey.

The majority of small business owners agreed that offering a retirement plan for employees is “the right thing to do."

The Plan Sponsor Council of America’s 61st Annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans finds only 31.4% of 401(k) plan sponsors use participant income replacement ratios as a success measure.

More plan sponsors are making Roth contributions available, automatic enrollment default deferral percentages are increasing, and company match formulas are becoming more generous.

“The preliminary data from OregonSaves show that important assumptions about how workers would react to the availability of auto-IRAs appear to be holding up, at least in the context of their behavior within the program," the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College says.

John Hancock researchers sought to quantify the cost of workers’ financial stress for employers, finding the average annual excess expense per employee is a lot more significant than may be assumed.

And demand for financial advice has increased, T. Rowe Price found in a survey.

On average, they offer 27 core investment options, according to ICI and BrightScope

Findings in a Buck survey demonstrate that a failure to creatively invest in employee wellness can result in many adverse consequences for the success and sustainability of a business.

In such plans, they have more than twice the average retirement balance of other workers.

Employees expressed concerns about budgeting, health care and emergency funds, and low levels of knowledge about financial and retirement topics were reported.

However, retirees spend 32% less than non-retirees.

Working in collaboration with Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, the National Institute on Retirement Security has published a detailed analysis of the challenges facing Latino workers in the U.S. as they save and invest for retirement.

For example, the Society of Actuaries found all generations are highly concerned with having enough money to pay for health care in retirement, however, saving for the future medical costs is only a high priority for 36% of respondents. 

By talking about the power of compounding and emphasizing the importance of investing at the same time one is paying down debt, advisers can inspire younger clients to save more and save earlier.  

A 401(k) match and health insurance are the benefits they value the most

The research finds that individuals most likely to be interested in annuities are younger and still working, which LIMRA SRI says creates an opportunity for future conversations for advisers.

In addition, a person invested in a stable value fund versus someone invested in a target-date fund could end up with a balance as much as 59% lower, BlackRock says.

They have more than $260,000 saved, compared with $82,000 for those without an adviser.

And a majority, 65%, say it is tougher now to get ahead financially than it was before the financial crisis, Natixis found in a survey.