One-third (33 percent) of Americans who take part in an employer-sponsored retirement plan say they are not familiar with its investment options, and another 36 percent believe they have too many or too few choices, according to a TIAA-CREF survey.

There is a significant difference between males and females in terms of familiarity. Thirty-seven percent of women said they are not familiar with their investment choices compared to 29 percent of men. And there are differences among generations, with 43 percent of Gen Y respondents saying they are not familiar with their plans compared to just 24 percent of baby boomers.

A lack of understanding can harm people's readiness for retirement, the survey found. Respondents who are familiar with investment options are almost twice as likely to be saving more than 10 percent of annual income for retirement (39 percent to 21 percent.)

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.