Workers in their 50s and 60s are experiencing declining incomes—and facing the prospect of delaying retirement. Plan sponsors will want to stay abreast of the trends.
The Bottom Line
AARP reports that the pandemic and related social and economic disruption has a growing number of people in their fifties and sixties planning to postpone retirement. Some of the particularly noteworthy findings in a recent survey from SimpytWise included:
- Only 63 percent of workers in their 50s and 60s are making the same income as they did before the pandemic, while an additional 20 percent are doing the same jobs but receiving less pay.
- Fifty-nine percent of Americans in their 50s plan to work in retirement, including 42 percent whosee themselves working part time and 17 percent who plan to work full time. The number of full-timers is up significantly from May, when just 8 percent of Americans in their 50s planned to keep working full time in retirement.
- About 11 percent of Americans managed to save $10,000 or more for retirement last year, while an additional 27 percent saved between $1,000 and $9,000. About a third didn’t manage to save anything at all.
Don’t Stop Believing
Plan sponsors, are not of course superheroes, There are some ways you can help though. For example, make sure employees have easy access to all of the information and guidance that your plan’s service providers offer (e.g., workshops, advising services…). Additionally, make sure employees understand how even modest savings can stack up over time. If your company offers an employer match, encourage employees to take advantage—and if it does not, is this the year the company could start benefitting from doing so?
Do all of your plan participants know how to adjust their contributions as their salaries or needs shift? It will also be helpful to support older workers in planning for Required Minimal Withdrawals (RMDs) and understanding the ramifications of early withdrawals. Brush up on those points here.
This is no time to lose sight of all the protections that need to be in place for hard won retirement savings. Does your retirement plan have the ERISA Fidelity Bond required by the federal government—and is it current? For assistance with this, and more, let Colonial Surety Company, a national leader in the field, help. Just select an affordable coverage package and receive a full service solution that includes:
- TheERISA bond required to protect the assets of the retirement plan from theft;
- Cyber Liability coverage to safeguard your company and plan from covered losses and expenses in the event of a cyber breach; and,
- Fiduciary Liability coverage to protect you and your assets from personal liability.
Colonial Surety Company provides user-friendly, digital and direct service. You can easily and quickly purchase your bonds and related insurance coverage online—and instantly print or e-file them from your desktop—or anywhere.
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Miles to Go
Sobering findings from the SimplyWise Retirement Confidence Index include:
- 55% of people are more concerned about retirement today than this time last year.
- 44% of Americans worry they’ll never be able to retire—an all-time high.
- 23% of Americans don’t have any kind of retirement plan.
- 25% of Americans in their 60s could not last more than 3 months off their savings—an all-time high.
Solving these problems will clearly take some time—and perseverance.
Something that won’t take up your time—and will relieve some of the stress of being a plan sponsor— is obtaining a full ERISA Bond coverage package from Colonial Surety Company. Our unique packages even include extended coverage to ensure your ERISA bond remains US Department of Labor compliant—and retroactive coverage for past years if the plan was not adequately covered.
Colonial’s 2 or 3-year ERISA bond packages provide the greatest overall savings and protection, providing fiduciary liability coverage to protect you—the plan sponsor, and cyber liability insurance to safeguard your company and plan from covered losses and expenses in the event of a cyber attack.
Obtain Your ERISA Bond Package Here!
Colonial Surety Company is in business all across the USA. We are rated “A Excellent” by A.M. Best Company and U.S. Treasury listed.