Conceived to help create a culture that promotes and values saving in the workplace and the community, National Retirement Security Week is the first congressionally endorsed, national event formally calling on employers to promote the benefits of saving for retirement, and encourage their employees to take full advantage of employer-sponsored plans.
Retirement security remains one of the biggest challenges facing America’s workforce. According to a 2015 survey1 conducted by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), only 22 percent of workers are confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement.
“Employer-sponsored retirement plans are often the primary vehicles for Americans to save for retirement, aside from Social Security. Yet many individuals are still unprepared for retirement,” says Jamie McInnes, senior vice president and head of Total Retirement Solutions at Prudential Retirement. “While the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans has placed ownership of retirement planning on employees, employers can play a significant role in encouraging employees to join the plan or increase their contributions by offering competitive company match rates and through plan design features, such as auto-enrollment and auto-escalation.”
For example according to a recent study from Prudential, plans at Prudential Retirement that adopted an automatic enrollment feature had a 90 percent participation rate, compared to a 62 percent participation rate for plans without automatic enrollment.
Rodney Branch, senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer for Prudential Annuities, encourages Americans to focus on their financial future during National Retirement Security Week. “Every day, new and innovative resources are being developed to help Americans improve their financial awareness and start planning for a financially secure future,” he said.
Branch cites examples including Prudential Annuities’ award-winning, interactive website, IncomeCertainty.com, a key element of its strategy to help investors prepare for retirement. Built with responsive design technology–allowing users to access it from a laptop, mobile phone or tablet–the site offers educational videos, interactive tools and information from industry experts including the AARP, Insured Retirement Institute and the Social Security Administration.
“We want to empower Americans with knowledge, through a range of formats, that helps them take the next step in working with their financial advisor to plan for retirement.”
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of June 30, 2015, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visitwww.news.prudential.com.
1 The 2015 Retirement Confidence Survey: Having a Retirement Savings Plan a Key Factor in Americans’ Retirement Confidence (April 2015)
Contacts
Prudential Financial, Inc.
Lisa M. Bennett, 973-802-2894
[email protected]
or
Josh Stoffregen, 973-802-3996
[email protected]
