Nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of employers said they intend to focus on employees’ financial well-being in ways that expand beyond retirement decisions, according to new research by Aon Hewitt.
The top three financial wellness tools employers would like to offer are education around financial markets, financial planning and health-care planning.
The research, which surveyed 125 employers covering 1.5 million pension plan members, also found 63 per cent of employers expressed a desire to compare their retirement programs against competitors and to evaluate their program design, up 10 per cent from 2013.
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Some 43 per cent of capital accumulation plan sponsors that responded to the survey said they’d like to measure the projected retirement income adequacy of their plans, an 18 per cent increase from Aon Hewitt’s findings in 2015. When including all plan sponsors, this figure went up to 49 per cent.
Another half (47 per cent) of capital accumulation plan sponsors said they’re likely to encourage lifetime income, whereby they would support the process of allowing participants to convert account balances to lifetime income.
Among employer respondents that provide a defined benefit pension, the survey found 75 per cent rank risk management as the top priority facing their plans, including risks related to compliance, fiduciary, and asset-liability.
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The same amount (75 per cent) of defined benefit plan sponsors said they aren’t expecting to make any design changes to their current plans in 2016, compared to 68 per cent that said the same in 2013.
“While this year’s survey shows that plan sponsors are concerned, it also demonstrates their commitment to measuring plan effectiveness and retirement outcomes, as well as educating plan members,” said William da Silva, senior partner and national retirement practice leader at Aon Hewitt.
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