Retirement plan confidence shows ‘substantial growth’

After periods of rising and falling between 2016 to 2019, individual retirement plan ownership and assets saw “substantial growth” between 2019 and 2022, according to the results of the 2024 Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. 

The 2024 survey of 2,521 Americans was conducted online Jan. 2 through Jan. 31. All respondents were aged 25 or older. The survey included 1,255 workers and 1,266 retirees.

EBRI defines individual account retirement plans as employment-based retirement savings plans financed by both employer and employee contributions such as 401(k) plans, as well as Keogh plans for the self-employed and individual retirement accounts for savings outside of the workplace.

Sixty-seven percent of the respondents said they believe their employer has a responsibility to help with financial planning, especially for retirement with 401(k) options.

“While the results of this study do not answer questions about what is needed for retirement, it does show the continued importance of individual account plans. Consequently, considering the substantial amount IA assets contribute to a family’s net worth, any policy that alters this system could have consequences either positive or negative for Americans’ ability to fund a comfortable retirement,” Director of Wealth Benefits Research at EBRI Craig Copeland stated. 

More than 68% of Americans surveyed said they are confident they will be financially ready for retirement when the time comes. Younger workers appeared more confident in their ability to save for retirement.

At the same time, 70% of those who already have retired said they are concerned that inflation will remain high; 60% of retirees are concerned the economy will go into a recession over the next year. Copeland noted during a webinar Tuesday that the number of retirees concerned about the effect of the economy on their retirement security has dropped slightly.

“Both workers and retirees seem to be concerned that they’re going to be going away from what they have, so what they know,” he said.

According to the survey, four in 10 workers who are participating in their workplace retirement plan intend to roll their money into an IRA.

“This year, significantly more workers are likely to purchase an annuity,” according to the data.