Half of Millennial Business Owners Work With a Retirement Adviser

Half of Millennial business owners have a dedicated adviser helping them with retirement planning, compared to 43% of all business owners, a survey by Nationwide found. Twenty-three percent of Millennial business owners have identified a third party to sell their business in advance of retirement, compared to 10% of all business owners.

“It’s promising that Millennials are so focused on retirement and want to do more to prepare both themselves and their employees for retirement,” says John Carter, president of retirement plans for Nationwide. “Working with an adviser can help them achieve their personal and business goals.”

Sixty-nine percent of Millennial business owners say they are likely to offer retirement benefits to their employees in the future, compared to 36% of the average owner. Fifty-three percent say that having a retirement plan will help them with their own savings, while only 39% of Boomers say the same.

While 57% of Millennial business owners feel a responsibility to help their employees save for retirement, only 31% of Boomers and 44% of Gen Xers share this sentiment.

“Our research shows that Millennial business owners understand both the importance of saving for retirement and the need for workplace retirement benefits,” Carter says. “Millennials grew up during the Great Recession a decade ago, which significantly impacted how the generation spends, saves and manages their money and businesses. Now they are planning ahead and taking actions that could help them and their employees achieve financial security in retirement.”

Sixty-one percent of business owners expect better sales this year; this is true for 64% of Millennial business owners. Fifty-one percent of Millennial business owners think that offering a retirement plan could help attract and retain workers, particularly with unemployment so low. Only 44% of Gen Xers and 31% of Boomers think this is the case.

Forty-nine percent of all business owners say they will not change their retirement benefits due to tax reform. Eighteen percent say they will increase retirement contributions. Thirty-two percent of Millennial business owners are planning to do so. Twenty-five percent of Millennial business owners say that the tax reform has made it possible for them to offer a retirement plan, whereas only 19% of all business owners say the same.

“With the continued economic expansion tightening labor markets, it’s more important than ever for employers to offer comprehensive benefits like retirement plans,” Carter says. “Some of the most successful companies that we’ve worked with take an active role in encouraging their associates to plan for their future.”

Edelman Intelligence conducted the online survey of 1,000 business owners for Nationwide in April.