Employee financial well-being and retirement survey

April 2012
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Employee financial well-being and retirement survey

At a glance

PwC's Financial Wellness Survey tracks the financial and retirement well-being of working American adults nationwide.

PwC Financial Wellness Survey
2012 results

Despite an improving economy, the majority of employees are still very much burdened by day-to-day financial concerns, with cash flow and debt management issues continuing to top employees’ financial concerns. This is one of the key findings of PwC's third annual Financial Wellness Survey, a comprehensive survey of employees across the US. In fact, over half of those surveyed report that their stress level related to financial issues has increased over the last 12 months. Financial stress affects employee productivity, with one-third of respondents admitting that personal financial issues have been a distraction at work and nearly all indicating they have spent time at work either thinking about or dealing with issues related to their personal finances, more than double last year.

Based on the survey results, employers need to continue to be vigilant in their efforts to increase employee retirement savings while being mindful of the other financial issues and challenges employees are facing. Employers should take a more holistic approach to improving overall financial wellness and reducing stress in order to help employees address these competing financial goals and issues which, in turn, will not only help keep retirement plan assets dedicated to meeting future retirement needs but also help free up additional capital to help combat the ever-rising cost of retirement. In the end, the benefit for employers is being able to maintain an engaged, healthy and productive workforce that will be more financially secure in retirement.

Key findings

  • Employee stress levels related to financial issues are on the rise
  • Cash flow issues continue to top financial concerns for employees
  • Meeting expenses on time and debt issues remain a challenge for 2012
  • Retirement confidence is eroding despite more people putting at least some money away for retirement
  • Of those who are saving, a large percentage believe they will need to use their retirement funds for other expenses
  • Employees nearing retirement remain unprepared and over half of the respondents plan to push off retirement
  • Employees continue to feel discomfort with investment decisions
  • Employees do not have all of their estate planning documents in place

About the survey
PwC's Financial Wellness Survey tracks the financial and retirement well-being of working American adults nationwide. This year's survey incorporates the views of almost 1,700 full-time or self-employed adults.

About the PwC Financial Education practice
Whether your employees are stressed over organizational shifts, market conditions, personal life events, or benefits changes, PwC’s Financial Education and Saratoga practices work with clients to design and deliver customized financial wellness programs tailored to employee needs and specific company objectives. Using our personalized Financial Fitness Assessment and a targeted multi–media approach that includes workshops, webcasts, telephone counseling, personal coaching, web–based education/tools, and communications, we empower employees to make educated decisions to improve their financial well-being.

For additional information please visit www.pwc.com/us/financialeducation.