Americans are withdrawing retirement funds early to make ends meet

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Betterment at Work released a new survey on the state of retirement readiness across the U.S. workforce. The report, which tracks year-over-year trends from 2022, polled 1,000 full-time U.S. employees to examine how retirement readiness and financial wellness has evolved in the past 12 months, shifts in employee benefit preferences, and how these trends have changed within a shifting economic environment.

The U.S. is currently facing a national retirement crisis: over 56 million privately employed Americans lack access to retirement savings programs through employers, leaving retirement planning to individuals who may be unsure how much to save or struggle to balance this with other short-term priorities. Betterment at Work's findings help employers understand the root cause of retirement insecurity, and how stronger benefits packages can support the competing financial needs of workers.

Key findings from Betterment at Work's 2023 Retirement Readiness Report include:

• Financial instability is on the rise, impacting retirement security:
  • 31% of employees reported facing moderate to significant financial instability, up nine percentage points from 2022 (22%).
  • Nearly four out of five workers (78%) said their finances cause them anxiety.
  • Only about half (52%) of employees reported currently having an emergency fund — a seven percentage point drop from 2022.
  • Nearly a third (30%) of workers tapped into their retirement savings over the past 12 months to pay for short-term expenses, and less than half (40%) feel confident that they'll be ready for retirement.
• Student debt weighs heavy on employees as payments resume:
  • Nearly half (49%) of borrowers stated that they did not feel financially prepared to restart student loan payments.
  • 64% of borrowers said their student debt has impacted their ability to save for retirement, and 61% of those with children indicated they've put retirement plans on the backburner to pay for their child's education.
  • 70% of workers say that their student loan debt causes them financial anxiety.
  • 49% believe employers should play a role in helping employees pay off their student loan debt — this felt most strongly amongst Gen Z (71% of whom agreed), compared to just 27% of Boomers.
• "Quiet quitting" and "rage applying" could be curbed through stronger financial benefits:
  • 60% of employees said they would be enticed to leave their job by an employer offering better financial benefits than their current employer, a six percentage point increase from 2022 (54%).
  • Nearly a third of workers (30%) have considered "quiet quitting" over the past 12 months, and about 1 in 4 (24%) have considered "rage applying."
  • Yet, 72% of workers said better financial wellness benefits would reduce the chance that they consider "quiet quitting" or "rage applying" again in the future.

"Retirement security is under threat in America," said Sarah Levy, CEO of Betterment. "Our workforce is eager to save for the future, but they're facing competing priorities — from student loans to household expenses — that stand in the way of long-term financial security. This is an opportunity for employers to step in and lend a hand, reexamining their benefits packages and gauging whether current offerings are truly addressing the challenges standing in the way of employee retirement readiness."

Read or download the full report here.