Benefits March 17, 2005

Study: Americans Overconfident about Retirement Financial Situation

March 17, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Although 70% of Americans are confident about their future retirement financial situation, much of this confidence may be overoptimistic, according to a recent study.
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Despite the high levels of confidence, only 47% of Americans have actually estimated how much money they will need in retirement, according to the study from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Only 49% regularly monitor their retirement assets, as well.

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“Our survey reveals too many Americans are operating in the dark when it comes to retirement planning,” said Nikki Sorum, Thrivent Financial senior vice president of marketing and products, in a press release. “Confidence needs to be built on real needs such as determining one’s financial needs and then developing a strategy for reaching those goals.”

The study indicates that 26% of Americans have saved less than $5,000 for retirement; not surprisingly however, younger workers (18 to 34) are the most likely to have saved so little, with 39% of this group having saved less than this amount. Those with incomes below $35,000 also are more likely to be in this group, with 43% having saved less than $5,000. However, 20% of those between 50 and 64 and one in seven with incomes over $75,000 annually have saved less than $5,000.

There is some worry about retirement, however, Twenty-two percent claimred that they are worried about retirement financials, with 4% claiming they are in a “panic”. Even those with over $75,000 in annual income are worried (23%) and panicked (2%).

The study was conducted for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a Fortune 500 financial services group, of 661 non-retired American workers.

Benefits March 16, 2005

Study: 33% of Americans Feel Overworked

March 16, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - One in three American workers is chronically overworked, according to a recent study.
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Although this number does not vary much from the original study done in 2001 (both studies were conducted by the Families and Work Institute), there are vast difference between ages and lifestyles and the levels of stress related to both, the Associated Press reported.

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Employees who have been at companies who have gone through layoffs are more likely to be overworked (42%), compared to only 27% of those at companies that have a steady payroll, according to the study. With overwork comes less vacation,: more than one-third of workers do not take their allotted vacation time, according to the study.

Age also makes a difference in relation to overworking. Older workers – those between 40 and 59 – are more likely to be overworked, with 37% reporting that they are. The overworking levels are lower for both Generation Y (18- to 25-year olds) and Generation X (26- to 39-year olds) members, who report being overworked in numbers of only 28% and 29%, respectively. Based on these findings, the study suggests that younger workers are finding a better work-life balance than their older peers.

Surprisingly, people with children are no less likely to be overworked than those without; however, 40% of those with teenagers report being overworked. Thirty-seven percent of employees caring for their parents reported being overworked, compared to only 28% without such duties.

The study also reports that the higher the salary, the more the work. Large numbers of managers and people earning above $50,000 report being overworked. However, companies can mitigate this stress by providing greater balance between work and home. Companies that do this have only 26% of employees feeling overworked, compared to 56% for those that do not.

“In some sense, things are getting worse. People are working longer hours and their jobs are becoming more demanding,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute, a non-profit research group. “On the other hand, employers have become more flexible and that tends to lessen being overworked, and also, people’s priorities have changed.”

An executive summary of the study is at http://familiesandwork.org/summary/overwork2005.pdf .

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