Three Times as Many Millennials Spend Time on Social Media Profile than Retirement Planning

Posted by: Fred Barstein in Behavioral Finance, Latest Stories, Plan Optimization June 8, 2017

According to research by Voya’s Behavioral Institute for Innovation with 1000 consumers, people admit that they do not spend enough time on retirement planning. In fact, over one-third would rather wait on line at the DMV. Through a series of questions by Voya, it is clear that getting people engaged in planning for retirement will be an uphill battle.

The survey showed that most people take a “set it and forget” approach to retirement planning with 63% admitting that they do not spend enough time on this activity with just 20% of people making adjustments over the past year. At the same time, 63% of Millennials updated their social media profile.

Even major life changes do not cause a significant percentage to adjust their retirement plan with just over half making changes. Retirement planning is at the top of the list of activities for procrastination ahead of preparing for an exam, public speaking and researching a loan. Surprisingly, 37% would rather wait on line at the DMV. Maybe we should give them the opportunity to review their retirement plan when waiting.

With these results, it is no wonder that the growth of the Ideal Plan incorporating auto-features has grown so quickly and will continue to increase. And while auto features will get people into their retirement plan and get them on the right track, there is still a need for engagement.

The retirement industry and plan sponsors face major hurdles to get people to take responsibility for their retirement plan which becomes especially important as they approach retirement and have to make sure that their limited resources last a lifetime. Making planning for retirement fun or even providing people with incentives are some ways to engage workers but it’s clear that the more successful path will be to customize choices based on a consumer’s profile and behaviors making the necessary actions simple and easy.

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Fred Barstein

Founder & Editor-in-Chief at 401kTV | TRAU | TPSU

Fred Barstein is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of 401kTV. Fred is also the Founder and CEO of The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU), a collaboration with UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education and The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU).Mr. Barstein was also Founder and Editor-in-Chief of NAPA Net.