A key disconnect reported in the survey is between workers’ expectations about relying on income from work in retirement, compared to retirees’ actual experience: 68 percent of workers expect income from Ne ws from E B R I working to be either a major or a minor source of income in retirement, whereas only 26 percent of th retirees say that this income is a major or minor source. Workers also have different expectations around 1100 13 St. NW ? Suite 878 ? Washington, DC 20005 Social Security than retirees have experienced: only a third of workers (36 percent) expect Social Security (202) 659-0670 ? www.ebri.org ? Fax: (202) 775-6312 to be a major source of retirement income, compared to 67 percent of retirees who report that Social Security is a major source of income in retirement. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2018 CONTACT: Sara Bridwell, EBRI, 703/535-8184, bridwell@ebri.org Workers may be looking for different ways to fill the retirement income gap. Craig Copeland, EBRI (co-author), 202/775-6356, copeland@ebri.org Jack VanDerhei, EBRI (co-author), 202/775-6327, vanderhei@ebri.org ? Eight in ten workers (81 percent) say they expect that a workplace retirement savings plan, such Lisa Greenwald, Greenwald & Associates, (co-author), 202/686-2510 x108 as a 401(k) or 403(b), will be a major or minor source of income. LisaGreenwald@greenwaldresearch.com ? By comparison, half of retirees (48 percent) say this type of plan is not a source of income for them. ? Those with a defined contribution (DC) plan like a 401(k) are far more likely to say they are confident in their ability to live comfortably in retirement: 76 percent of workers with a DC plan 2018 RCS: Retiree Confidence in Critical Aspects of are at least somewhat confident in their ability to live comfortably in retirement versus 46 percent Retir ofemen those witho t ut Se a DC curi plan. ty D eclines, While Workers’ Overall Confidence Creeps Up “Satisfaction with DC plans is very important because that will encourage their use in building up assets f or retirement. However, the data suggest many plan participants don’t know what to do with their DC WAS plan as Hs Iet Ns Gat T O re N ti r– em Th ent is y . Thre ear’s e R in ettien rem (31 p ent C eronf cent iden ) say ce Surv they don’ ey (RCS t know ) fi n w ds het on he ly r a t they hi w rd o illf r rol etli rte hes e m ver oney y conf into ian I denR t i A n t , k hee eir p ab it iiln itt yhe to pllian ve c , oom r cas for h tabl it oy ut t,” hr oug Cope hou land t re sa tiriem d. “ ent At t (h 32 pe e sam rce e t nt im ). eWhi , par le tic thi ipan s is c ts ar om e parable to last year, retiree confidence in having enough money to cover basic expenses and medical expenses has interested in guaranteed lifetime income options either inside or outside of their plan, which could be due dropped: 80 percent say they are very/somewhat confident about covering basic expenses this year to the lower expected reliance of workers on other guaranteed income sources like Social Security and t com radipar tion ed t al p o ens 85 pe ion p rce lan nt s.” in 2017; and 70 percent say they are very/somewhat confident about covering medical expenses this year vs. 77 percent in 2017. In addition, retirees’ confidence that Medicare and Soci Foura iln Se ficur ve cur ity rw en iltl D co C nt par inute t icio p pant rov s exp ide b res ene s ifn it te s e res qua t in l tput o w tihat ng som retire or ees al rece l o iv f t e t hei oda r m y has oney si ig n g niuar ficaant ntlee y d l dec ifetliim ned e i com ncom par e pr ed odu to lct as st, r yeg eaar r, w dle itss h o fewe f whe r tt hher an h th al e pr f saoduct ying t ihey s an i arn e -pl ver an i y or nv som estm ewhat ent op co tion o nfiden r a s t (epa 46 rate percent very or somewhat confident in Medicare this year vs. 52 percent in 2017; 45 percent very or product purchased outside of the plan at the time of retirement. Furthermore, 21 percent of current DC par som tiewhat cipant s conf sayi de they nt iw n So ill u ci sal e t Se heicur r m itoney y vs. i51 pe n theirrce pn lan t in to pur 2017c)has . On e a p ly 7 per roduc ce tn ttha of t pr reov tiree ides s sa gy uar they ant ee ard e v m er ont y conf hly iincom dent t e f haor t ea lich o fe, a f not thes ab e wi ly lar ll c gont er sha inure t e to han prov thie de t 7 pe he s rce am nt o e l f r ev eel tir o ees f be wnef ho irtepo s they rt t do hat t today hey hav . e purchased such a product with DC assets. th T his is the 28 annual RCS by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and research f T ir he m su Gr ree vey nw repor ald & t, “ A T ss he oci 20 at18 R es. Itet iis t rem he l ent ong Ces ontf-irdenc unnie ng Surv surv ey ey ,” i of s a itv s k aiilnd ablie n t he he na re. tion, exploring the retirement outlook of both workers and retirees. About the Survey: The survey was conducted from Jan. 3, 2018 to Jan. 16, 2018, through online i “Ret nteri vrie ews w es cont iti h 2 nue ,042 to b ie m ndiv or idua e co ls nf (i 1,002 w dent in t oh rei ker r r s a eti nd 1 rem,040 r ent sec etu ir ri etes y t )han wo ages 25 a rker nd o s,” lnot dered C in the Un raig Ciopel ted and, EBRI senior research associate and co-author of the report. “Just 17 percent of American workers say States. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.16 percentage points for all workers and 3.1 per they cent are ag ve e poi ry con nts fifden or al t i ln ret thei ireres ab . ility to live comfortably throughout retirement, compared with nearly a third of retirees who say that are very confident. However, nearly two in three workers (64 percent) say T they he Em feepl l voy eree y o B r s ene om fewh it Re at sea conf rch I iden nstti tiu n t te hiei s r a pr abiilv iat tye, to nonpar retire c tiom san, for nonp tably rof .” Copel it resear and po ch inst ii nt tu s ou te btas th ed at itn he Wa perc sh ent ing ag ton, D e of w C or , t khat ers f w ocus ho sa esy on h they ea ar lth, e at sa lv ea ing st s, r som etewhat irement conf , and e iden co t inom s up ic s from ec 60 urity per iss cues ent . EB in 20 R 17. I conducts objective research and education to inform plan design and public policy, does not lobby and “Health care expenses in retirement appear to be playing a notable role in retirees’ confidence. Retirees does not take policy positions. The work of EBRI is made possible by funding from its members and spons are les os c rs, wh onfiiden ch i tnc in lude being a b abl road e to a rang ffor e of d m publ edic ic, al pr expe ivat nse e, fs oand t r-prof he s it and n hare onpr very o co fitn o firde gani nt z in a atio ff ns. Fo ording r m long ore - term care also declined,” said Lisa Greenwald, executive vice president of Greenwald & Associates, and information go to www.ebri.org or www.asec.org co-author of the report. “Half of retirees say they didn’t even try to calculate health expenses before G ret ri ee rem nw ent ald & , and m Assor oci e t athan es is four a le i adi n tng en r , f et uilr l- ese esr s vay ice t m hei ar r k hea et rles th c ear ar ce h f exp irm ens spe es a cial re h iziin gg her in r than etirem they ent exp , ected. However, those that did the calculation are less likely to report health is costing them more than employee benefits, and health care research. For more information, go to www.greenwaldresearch.com expected,” she said. 1210 EBRI on Twitter: @EBRI or http://twitter.com/EBRI EBRI RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/EBRI-RSS