Notwithstanding a strong U.S. economy, only one in fourAmericans say they feel financially prepared for retirement, accordingto a report just issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board ofStandards: Close to 80 percent of participants surveyedsay they are not reassured that they have the best retirementsavings strategies available to them; the CFP Board states thatthis may have to do with individuals not knowing whatoptions exist.

Three in 10 respondents do not know whether their currentemployer offered a retirement savings plan. A quarter ofrespondents complain that saving for retirement is too complicated.(The poll took place in early April among a national sample of2,200 adults.)

Related: Retirement planning for employees: Why and howemployers should help

“With so many Americans getting a late start on retirementsavings, the odds are high that they will be unprepared to maintainthe lifestyle they're accustomed to living,” according to KevinKeller, the CFP Board's chief executive.

“Americans know how important it is to save for retirement, butthe truth is more than a third of those surveyed are overwhelmed bythe process and, critically, many do not understand what productsand resources are available to them,” he added.

Even so, 60 percent of survey respondents who receiveretirement advice from a financial professional say they have“definitely” benefited from this service. In addition,54 percent believe they would benefit from receivingprofessional retirement savings advice if they were to use it inthe future.

According to the survey findings, nearly 50 percent ofrespondents think adults should start saving for retirement intheir 20s. Few follow their own advice, the CFP Board noted. Itsaid 26 percent of Americans delay saving for retirementuntil their 30s, while another 15 percent wait until their40s. Worse, 8 percent wait to start saving for retirementuntil after they turn 50.

“The nuances to retirement savings vary based on circumstantialfactors, such as what you can afford to save and what savingsprograms are available to you,” Keller explained. “This surveyshows there is still a lack of clarity about what options areavailable to retirement savers, including ethical and competentfinancial advice.”

The executive says it is time for Congress, the administrationand other stakeholders, including the CFP Board, to jointly developnew solutions to meet the retirement crisis. A report commissionedby the group and drafted by Fred Reish, an expert in retirementissues and partner at Drinker Biddle, will be released by year-end.The Retirement Issues Working Group, a blue-ribbon panel of CFPprofessionals that provides on-the-ground, practical experienceswith retirement security issues, will contribute to thedocument.

Impact of wellness programs

Separately, Financial Finesse's latest review of financialwellness reveals that employees who used their financial wellnessprogram regularly improve in all areas of financial planning. Thegreatest improvement shows up in retirement preparedness. In 2013,21 percent of study participants said they were preparedfor retirement. By last year, that number rose to57 percent.

The study also finds that average retirement plan contributionrates have risen to 9.4 percent from 6.3 percent,and average contributions to a health savings account haveincreased by 41 percent, to $1,319 from $934.

Close to 70 percent of employees who use financialwellness programs say they are feeling confident in theirinvestment strategy, up from 43 percent in 2013. The studyincludes results of a multi-year study focusing on close to 2,500employees who regularly engaged with their employer's personalfinancial wellness program from 2013 to 2018 to determine financialprogress.

“The study's findings have significant implications for whatsome industry experts have called a retirement crisis,” FinancialFinesse's chief executive Liz Davidson said in a statement.

“Employers have spent millions of dollars trying to address thisproblem,” she added, “through incentivizing employees to save bymatching their retirement plan contributions, automaticallyenrolling employees into their retirement plans, and providingemployees target date fund and professionally managed accountsdesigned to invest their assets in line with their retirementgoals.”

Davidson explains that each innovation has been touted as thesolution to the problem — and these have had an effect — butgetting American workers to save enough to retire comfortably hasmore challenging than originally expected.

Financial Finesse also points out that a recent survey conductedby the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald &Associates, finds 70 percent of American workers believedebt negatively affects their ability to save for retirement. And55 percent of workers say they are unable to save forretirement and save for other financial goals at the same time.

“Even the best retirement plans can't compensate for an employeewho simply is unable to save sufficiently due to high levels ofstudent loan debt, rising health care expenses, and a society thatplaces a premium on 'living your best life' with experiences thatare largely out of reach for most Americans,” the study's co-authorGreg Ward, director of the Financial Wellness Think Tank, said inthe statement. “The reality is that most employees need financialcoaching to overcome these obstacles.”

According to Davidson, financial wellness programs are rapidlyexpanding, with more than 300 firms putting themselves forward asproviders. These programs are a fast-growing employee benefit, andmany employers consider them an imperative from a social missionperspective.

Financial Finesse pointed to a poll done by Alight Solutions inwhich 82 percent of employers state that offering afinancial well-being program is “the right thing to do.” Plus, aMetLife study of employee benefit trends reveals that53 percent of employees believe their employers have aresponsibility for their financial well being. “Companies thatignore this issue put themselves at a distinct disadvantage when itcomes to recruiting and retaining talent,” Davidson said.

Pension problems

Meanwhile, U.S. corporate defined benefit (DB) plans probablywould like to forget this past winter, according to new researchfrom Cerulli Associates. After tens of billions of contributionsand higher discount rates improving funded status for much of 2018,volatility negatively affected corporate DB plans in the last daysof the year.

“Significant volatility in financial assets and interest rateswhipsawed these institutions just as underfunding concerns werebeginning to ease early in the fourth quarter of 2018,” Cerullistates.

Through the first three quarters of 2018, the funded status ofthe average corporate DB plan steadily improved from a more than85 percent funded ratio to the low-to-mid 90s inSeptember, according to Cerulli. This is largely because many plans— especially larger ones — took steps to de-risk pensionliabilities by freezing benefit accruals and/or closing to newparticipants after facing significant pressure to immunize thevolatility of liabilities on corporate balance sheets and incomestatements.

Then, financial market volatility in late 2018 — brought onlargely by concerns of slowing global growth — changed the game“seemingly overnight,” according to Cerulli. The Milliman PensionFunding Index says that the November-to-December experienced thelargest percentage-point decline for the year, in many cases wipingout 2018 percentage point improvements in funded ratios in onemonth.

Then, in the first few months of 2019, as the U.S. FederalReserve Board appeared to change track and hold off on furtherincreases in short-term interest rates, financial assets reboundedand volatility largely became a positive. Despite the bounce back,Cerulli finds that these corporate DB plans are feelingshell-shocked.

“Recalling the 2007–2008 global financial crisis losses (which,on the eve of the crisis, was the last time corporate pension planswere fully funded), CIOs tell Cerulli that their companies cannotstomach such volatility again,” the research states.

Reach Michael S. Fischer at [email protected].Emily Zulz is a former staff writer for ThinkAdvisor.com.