Employees Accept Responsibility for Retirement Security

Fifty-four percent of Americans say that individuals are primarily responsible for their own retirement security, MetLife found in its Role of the Company Survey. Twenty-seven percent say it is the company that is responsible, and 19% point to the government.

That said, asked if they would prefer to be left to their own devices to invest or have their employer provide them a set retirement paycheck for life, 58% want the steady paycheck, and 42% want to invest on their own.

Additionally, 61% would like companies to become more involved in providing retirement security in the next five to 10 years.  Seventy-four percent would rather invest in a company-sponsored retirement account, versus 26% who preferred paying into Social Security. Even when asked to choose between saving on their own or paying into Social Security, 56% chose going it alone, and 44%, Social Security.

“Employees recognize the important role their employers can play in planning for retirement,” says Roberta Rafaloff, vice president of institutional income annuities at MetLife. “They want a trusted partner who can help them navigate retirement security, creating an opportunity for companies to help their employees plan and save.”

The study also found that while 14% of Baby Boomers would like the government to be primarily responsible for retirement security, 24% of Millennials feel this way. Both Millennials and Boomers would prefer steady income in retirement to investing on their own.

MetLife says this indicates a large thirst for guaranteed retirement income, such that an annuity can provide.

ORC International conducted interviews with 1,006 part-time and full-time workers last July for the MetLife Role of the Company report.