I always have mixed emotions when it comes time to dig into our annual research on employee financial issues. On the one hand, there's excitement in knowing whatever we uncover helps employers determine their employees' most pressing financial concerns; however, we sometimes find facts that make me uneasy. In 2010, we were pleasantly surprised to see employees making significant improvements in their financial situations -- even more than we had anticipated. They were planning for their future and focused on working toward their personal recoveries, proving to be the shining light of the economic recovery as a whole.

In 2010, employees were:

Focused on long-term planning issues. Long-term planning calls made up 55 percent of all calls to our financial helpline.
No longer in crisis management mode. Calls about cash management fell from 17 percent to 14 percent.
Working toward recovery. Users of our Financial Learning Center improved in all areas of their finances.

Though we were encouraged by employees' improvements in planning for their future, our research reveals a shocking yet sadly unsurprising truth: When it comes to being prepared for retirement, 83 percent of employees have no idea if they are on track. Even with their new commitment to improving their finances, employees won't be able to avoid a retirement crisis that will affect just about everyone in America unless they make sustainable changes at an accelerated pace.

For plan providers, this is a scary reminder that most of the employee population is not saving enough in their plans to secure their retirement. What's worse is the problem could be solved largely in part by educating employees about their benefits and how to use them to meet their financial goals.

From an employer's perspective, the cost of a retirement crisis could be devastating. Studies have found for every one employee who has to work longer because he or she cannot afford to retire, it can cost the employer anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000 per additional year worked.

Whether a retirement crisis hits fully depends on how employees plan now and how well they manage their finances from here on. With so much at stake, this is the beginning of an important change to financial management in our society.

Instant Insights /

Employees focused on retirement planning but crisis still looms ahead

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