What Trumps Retirement as a Financial Priority?

That said, workers say that they would rather have a boosted 401(k) match than a raise, given their choice of benefit options, according to a new survey.

Eighty percent of respondents agree that the traditional idea of retirement is no longer accurate for most people’s expectations or experiences, while at the same time, three quarters (75%) say that their future financial goals and plans look different today than they did five years ago. In fact, that new survey finds that for most (82%) retirement today feels “less cookie cutter than it used to be”—and most envision their financial future will be different from their grandparents (65%), parents (56%) and children (56%).

Indeed, according to Franklin Templeton’s Voice of the American Worker Survey, the vast majority acknowledge that, “these days, retirement looks different for everyone” (88%) and “there is no single path to retirement today” (82%) as 8 in 10 believe, “the traditional idea of retirement is no longer accurate for most people's expectations or experience.”

Milestones Marker

Workers identified their most important financial milestones today as financial freedom (76%) and financial independence (74%), saying "'financial independence’ feels more empowering to me than ‘retirement’” (81%).

Financial independence is also a stronger indicator of 21st Century fulfillment, being more associated with the “ability to do what I want” (73%, compared with 57% for retirement), “owning a home” (72%, 39% retirement) and “not relying on a paycheck” (70%, 40% retirement). 

Retirement, on the other hand, is most associated with “free time” (72%, 46% financial independence) and “old age” (66%, 22% financial independence). Similarly, financial independence is also more associated with feeling successful, happy and fulfilled, while retirement is more “relaxing” and “boring.”

Women find financial independence particularly appealing (81%, 68% men), and are more likely to associate it with peace of mind and embracing new experiences.
More than half (57%) say their financial well-being isn’t just a number; it includes their health and lifestyle, rather than being primarily about the money (43%). 

Work ‘Places’

And three-quarters of workers want their workplace to provide more resources to help them with their overall financial well-being—believing their employer should provide incentives for good financial (79%) habits—as well as health habits (78%). In fact—as noted above—workers want to see employers upgrade their long-term financial health over immediate monetary gains, saying that they would rather have a boosted 401(k) match than a raise, given their choice of benefit options.

Nearly all (9 in 10) are also looking for tools to visualize their future and optimize well-being with top choices being planning tools and resources—with those that are set up to help achieve financial independence (35%) and visualize long- and short-term financial goals side by side (35%) topping their wish list.

The inaugural survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Franklin Templeton, is connected to Franklin Templeton’s Retirement Innovation Initiative (RII), which launched in January 2020 with the goal of improving retirement in the U.S. This study was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Franklin Templeton from Oct. 16–28, 2020, among 1,007 employed U.S. adults. All respondents had some form of retirement savings. Data are weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.