Benefits February 20, 2007

Survey: 401(k) Ranks as the Most Common Retirement Planning Method

February 20, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than one in five adults has not taken any steps toward planning for their retirement and only 10% have worked with an adviser on retirement planning, according to the Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive survey.
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The survey of more than 4,000 adults found that the most common step taken to prepare for retirement (29%) is contributing to a 401(k), followed by 21% who have opened a separate retirement savings account or a Roth IRA (21%) and investing in taxable stocks, bonds, mutual funds or annuities (20%).

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The survey found that the median age for beginning retirement planning is 33.3 years old and thatthose 45 to 54 are the most active in preparing for retirement, the most likely to work with an adviser (15%) and plan the type of work they will do after retirement (18%).

The median age at which 18- to 34-year-olds begin planning is 23.6; for 35- to 44-year-olds it jumps to 29.1; for ages 45-54 it is 35.6; and for those ages 55 and older, the median is 42.8, according to the survey.

Those with a high school education or lower are least likely to plan for retirement than those with a college degree, with 35% of respondents with this education level having begun planning for retirement compared to three-quarters of those with a college degree. Sixteen percent of those with a high school education or less say they do not intend to retire, compared to 10% of the general population.

Benefits February 16, 2007

Survey: 52% of Workers Satisfied with their Bosses

February 16, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Nearly 60% of employees say their bosses make time to review their job concerns and 45% say their managers help them develop new skills, according to a recent survey.
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The survey of about 3,000 U.S. workers was developed by staffing service Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com and looks at how employees view their higher-ups.

The survey found that workers view their supervisors slightly more favorably than they view the corporate executives at their company, with 44% saying they are satisfied with their corporate leaders’ performance, 8% lower than those who said the same about their bosses.

The survey also found that 36% percent of employees said those at the top lead by example, and 34% believe their corporate leaders are effective at motivating staff.

Other survey results include:

  • 52% of employees say they are satisfied with their bosses, compared to 28% who disagree;
  • 60% of workers say they can trust their managers, compared to 21% who believe say they cannot;
  • 24% of workers feel they could do a better job than their bosses if they were given the reins.

The full results of the survey are here http://www.roberthalf.com/PressRoom .

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