“When asked how they feel about their retirement savings, participants today are considerably more positive, according to the 2015 Lincoln Retirement Power Participant Engagement Study,” writes Rebecca Moore in an interesting planadviser.com piece headlined In-Person Meetings Best Retirement Plan Participant Motivator. “Optimism, confidence, and excitement each grew by six percentage points over 2012: 51% of participants described themselves as optimistic and 35% feel confident about retirement savings. The percentage of participants who are anxious about retirement savings declined by 10 percentage points, to 31% of participants from 41% in 2012. An additional excerpt from the front section of her piece:
“Similarly, a smaller proportion of plan participants now express concern about specific financial issues, from saving enough to retire to making good investment decisions as they age. For example, when asked about saving enough money to retire when they want to, 49% say they’re concerned, compared with 70% in 2012. Meanwhile, more participants now express optimism about those same financial issues. And fewer strongly agree that the economy makes it challenging to stay on track with retirement saving: 16% today compared with 37% in 2012.
“The Lincoln “Dynamic Dozen” model maps participants to 12 profiles based on the combination of engagement level and decision-making style, which together drive plan-related behavior. Overall, the survey found a significant decline in engagement and a sharp rise in instinctive decisions. In the current survey, 58% of participants are less engaged, compared with 46% in 2012. Less engaged participants tend to feel optimistic about their retirement finances but also more anxious and overwhelmed. They’re more likely to rely on their employers for financial information.”
And since that is the case, please contact Kevin McCormack at Pension Parameters to discuss or review your retirement plans.
732-583-1313