Voya Investment Management survey finds employers think their workforce is on track for retirement, but employees say otherwise

Voya Investment Management (Voya IM), the asset management business of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), today released new findings from its fourth edition of its survey of retirement plan sponsors, defined contribution (DC) specialists and contributing retirement plan participants detailing retirement perspectives on issues such as retirement readiness, investing and overall financial confidence.

This year, Voya IM surveyed plan participants for the first time, and their responses show just how much plan sponsors overestimate participant retirement readiness. Among many findings, the research found a gap between participant feelings versus plan sponsor perceptions when it comes to retirement readiness, where a strong majority (87%) of plan sponsors say their participants are somewhat or very prepared for retirement while only 63% of participants feel the same way.

As in 2021, sponsors’ top concerns remained to ensure that their plans comply with new regulations and that their participants are properly invested. Reducing plan fees and expenses has also been a recurrent focus that has grown in significance since 2021, moving from fifth place in the previous survey to third place this year. Cybersecurity is also a key concern for plan sponsors.

Turning to the impact of markets, more than half of the participants surveyed reported that inflation and the state of the economy will have a severe or major impact on their ability to save for retirement, while COVID-19 was much less frequently cited as an obstacle to retirement savings. 37% of participants over age 50 said that they are now planning to retire later than originally hoped due to the long-term effects of market volatility, inflation and COVID. When sponsors were asked for their views on the top long-term combined effects of recent market volatility, rising inflation and COVID on retirement plans and employee benefits, they cited an increase in participant investment changes and higher demand for emergency savings benefits as top impacts.

“Inflation and continued market fluctuations remain a concern for many Americans particularly for those nearing retirement. As a result, it’s become clear there is a disconnect between employers and their employees surrounding retirement readiness,” said Brian Houston, SVP, Business Development Manager, DCIO, Voya IM. “Specialists and employers can consider these findings an opportunity to bring forward more retirement readiness support solutions, such as offering an expanded investment menu for workers nearing retirement that includes additional fixed income options, lower volatility equity options and other strategies, such as managed accounts, to help employees on their path for a more secure financial future.”