CHICAGO (June 19, 2019) – A survey of workers and their retirement expectations by Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, found a mixed reaction on employees’ financial confidence, including how prepared they feel for retirement. Respondents also revealed they are seeking more education and support to become financially secure today and in the future.

Aon’s U.S. DC and Financial Wellbeing Employee Survey found that most people are positive about their financial situation (63 percent) and are confident about managing their money (66 percent). Nearly 50 percent of all respondents carry credit card debt, and nearly 40 percent of early-career respondents have student loan debt—and yet they feel confident. As they look longer term, only 25 percent of respondents expect to have a traditional retirement and go straight from full-time work to being fully retired and 60 percent of respondents worry about running out of money in retirement.

Employees report wanting guidance with their finances. The survey found more than half of respondents want their employer to provide access to financial services and products as well as help in understanding how much to save for retirement. In addition, a vast majority are interested in some form of guaranteed income in retirement.

Melissa Elbert, partner, Aon Retirement Solutions, said, “Our survey validated something we knew was happening - employees’ ideas of retirement are changing, but what was surprising was the magnitude of the change. Few employees are expecting a traditional retirement. Instead, many believe they will significantly delay retirement or work part-time for an extended period. In addition, a significant number expect to never really retire and work in some capacity forever. This expectation may not be practical for employees or employers.

“When human resources leaders have a clear understanding of their employees’ financial situation and the barriers they face, then they can create ways to support employees and their financial goals. These actions will ultimately benefit both the employee and employer through better productivity, employee morale, and more manageable retirement patterns.”

Employers are responding. According to Aon’s 2018 Global Financial Wellbeing Study, 62 percent of respondents expect to have a global financial wellbeing strategy in place within the next three years.

Additional international employee survey findings include:

• 40 percent of all respondents find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming, while that number rises to nearly 50 percent in the U.S.
• 56 percent worry about running out of money in retirement.
• 40 percent report they are just getting by financially, yet only 12 percent of all respondents rate their current financial situation negatively.

Download the U.S. report here, and the international report here.

The Aon DC and Financial Wellbeing Member Survey 2018 is based on a survey of more than 3,000 full-time employees with access to defined contribution (DC) plans through their employer in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as real-life experiences from participants in Aon’s DC pension and financial wellbeing focus groups in Ireland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Singapore. The research was conducted in summer 2018 in collaboration with Ipsos, a global independent research firm.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.

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Media Contacts:
Sadie Schwarm, sadie.schwarm@kemperlesnik.com or 217-502-4521
Nadine Youssef, nadine.youssef@aon.com or 312-381-2329