Skip to main content

You are here

Advertisement

Timing Can Be Everything

Timing is everything, it is said. That premise can hold regarding retirement as well — for employers as well as employees, says a recent blog entry.

In its recent blog entry “When Employees Retire Matters to Them… and to Employers,” Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC argues that when an employee retires matters not only to that individual, but also to their employer. “employers also have a stake in the timing of employee retirements,” it asserts.

Delays in retirement, the firm argues, can cost an employer. “Over time, employers may suffer financially when employees are unprepared to leave the workforce on time,” it says, although it doesn’t define at what age leaving the workforce “on time” occurs.

They further cite a report by Prudential, “Why Employers Should Care About the Cost of Delayed Retirements,’ which says “Having employees able to retire “on time” is a win/win scenario for both employees and employers.” Prudential found that a one-year increase in average retirement age results in:

  • incremental annual workforce costs of approximately 1.0%–1.5% for an entire workforce;
  • costs of $2-3 million for an employer with 3,000 employees and workforce costs of $200 million; and
  • an incremental cost of more than $50,000 for an individual, the differential between an employee at retirement age and a newly hired employee.
The blog entry makes some suggestions regarding how an employer can address the challenges posed by delayed retirements. These include:

  • encouraging saving through an employer match automatic enrollment and auto escalation;
  • Offering investment alternatives for plan participants who want professional account management of their account, and for those who don’t choose any options; and
  • including guaranteed lifetime income products among distribution options.
Fiduciary Plan Governance also suggests education as a way to encourage employees to retire “on time.” They argue, “Education is critical to helping employees retire on time [because participants] who are informed and confident often make better financial decisions, which can lead toward long-term security.”