Although surveyed employees reported increasing satisfaction with their financial situation, they are still concerned and are planning to take steps to improve their finances.

Towers Watson’s Retirement Planning In a Post-Crisis Economy report found that 41 percent of survey respondents reported improved satisfaction with their finances, up from 33% in 2010. Also, 47% reported having seen a significant decline in their pension and retirement savings, down from 60% in 2009. Even so, nearly 60% were generally unsatisfied with their financial situation.

Retirement confidence rises

In stark contrast to the results of the surveys of plan sponsors described on page 1 of this newsletter, about 68% of workers said they were very or somewhat confident about having sufficient financial resources to live comfortably for 15 years in retirement, up from 62% the year before.

They have less confidence about living comfortably throughout retirement. Those who were very or somewhat confident that they will have enough resources to last 25 years in retirement amounted to less than half (47%) of respondents. In 2010, that figure was 40%.

Actions planned this year

Retirement planning was reported to be a high priority for survey respondents. The top four planned actions this year were:

Review how much I need to save for retirement (37%)
Increase my monthly savings (33%)
Review my financial situation (30%)
Obtain professional financial advice (29%)

Retirement will be delayed

Almost 40% of workers reported planning to delay retirement. The majority of those (60%) expected to work at least an additional three years.

Education sources are identified

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents reported using the plan sponsor’s or plan administrator’s website to prepare for retirement. Online retirement modeling tools were used by 65% of those responding, and the same percentage reported using educational material that was sent to their home.

The Towers Watson report is at http://tinyurl.com/TowersWatsonRetPlanning.