Recruitment & Retention
Principal Financial Group® | January 16, 2024
The picture of retirement is evolving with more Americans turning 65 in 2024 than any year1 before. According to new research from Principal Financial Group®, expectations around how and when to retire by generation vary greatly – placing increased focus on employee engagement and personalized investment strategies to help improve financial security and retirement readiness.
Phased retirement appeals to younger workers who want to retire earlier
According to the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM, among Americans in the workforce, gradually decreasing hours is the most desired way to retire (52%) and is most preferred by Generation X (67%) and millennials (56%). Baby boomers and Generation Z report similarities in how they want to retire, with nearly half preferring to move immediately from working full-time to not working at all. This echoes the most common approach taken by current retirees surveyed2, a group in which just over one quarter (28%) either transitioned careers or gradually phased down from their primary career.
“Attitudes and expectations for retirement continue to evolve, and we expect the desire to approach retirement in phases will continue to grow with future generations,” said Chris Littlefield, president of Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal®.
While there are some similarities in how generations want to retire, they have different expectations on timelines and the age at which they plan to retire. The youngest generation, Gen Z, expects to retire at 55 – approximately 10 years earlier than baby boomers (68) and Gen X (64), and four years sooner than millennials (59).
Employees prioritize saving for retirement
The survey revealed employees are focused on balancing basic needs with long-term savings outcomes against a backdrop of ongoing economic pressures that continue to top their list of concerns. Employees of all generations ranked saving for retirement as their top financial priority, followed by affording basic needs and paying off consumer debt3.
"Saving for retirement is the No. 1 financial priority for employees surveyed, which validates that access to workplace benefits and financial wellness programs is helping Americans save for retirement and achieve better financial outcomes,” Littlefield said. “Going forward, increased personalization as well as tailored savings and investment strategies that take into account an individual’s financial goals, lifestyle, health care needs, dependent care obligations, retirement income expectations, and other unique factors will help achieve improved financial security in retirement.”
Retention and recruitment of older employees critical for business success
Employee interest in phased retirement has added value for employers. Most employers (77%) agree that the knowledge older employees have about their company is crucial to their business’s success. Employers concerned with “having valuable employees retire” are more likely to take actions to either retain them or hire employees who previously retired from other companies.
Despite this, not all employers have experience with offering phased retirement. Only 11% of small and midsized businesses4 reported they offer phased retirement job opportunities on a regular basis compared to nearly one quarter of large businesses5. However, interest is there, as 61% of businesses that don’t offer a phased retirement still receive questions from employees about the options.
See all results and insights from the latest Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM (PDF).
According to the Alliance for Lifetime Income
This wave included a survey of 137 individuals between the ages of 50 and 75 who consider themselves retired or have previously fully retired and gone back to work.
In order to be included in the survey sample, employees must work full-time, and their employer has to offer either health insurance or retirement as an employee benefit.
Businesses with 2-499 employees
Businesses with 500-10,000 employees
About the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM
The Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM surveys business owners, decision makers and business leaders aged 21 and over who work at companies with 2-10,000 employees and offer either health insurance or retirement as an employee benefit. The nation-wide survey, commissioned since 2012, examines the financial well-being of American workers and business employers. In 2020, the Well-Being Index was transformed from an annual survey to a regular pulse, offering three waves, revisiting questions and measuring sentiment regarding timely issues in the small and midsized business marketplace. In the first pulse of the Well-Being Index in 2022, the employee audience was added to the survey to compare and contrast key sentiment from employers. The survey was commissioned by Principal® and conducted online by Dynata from November 6-13, 2023, with a total of 500 business owners, decision makers and business leader participants and a total of 200 employee participants. This wave included a survey of 127 individuals who consider themselves retired or have previously fully retired and gone back to work. The research report focuses on providing a holistic perspective on key trends and timely issues in the small and medium business market.
About Principal Financial Group®
Principal Financial Group® is a global financial company with 19,500 employees1 passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, we’re helping more than 61 million customers1 plan, protect, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities where we do business, and build a diverse, inclusive workforce. Principal® is proud to be recognized as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere2, a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and a “Best Places to Work in Money Management3.”
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Employee Benefits
Springbuk | January 23, 2024
Reperio Health, the only provider of at-home and onsite biometric screenings with instant results, announced a strategic partnership with Springbuk, the leading health intelligence platform for employers and benefits advisors. By integrating Reperio’s full service biometric screening experience with insights from the Springbuk Activate partner marketplace, the solution will enhance healthcare outcomes through data-driven insights and personalized care.
The Springbuk Activate marketplace matches employers with possible partners based on their population's health needs or risks, showing them potential opportunities in savings and program engagement – all in one place.
"Reperio's innovative at-home and onsite health screening services bring convenience and timeliness to our employees,” said Joy Powell, CEO of Springbuk. “The instant results and metrics-driven insights empower our employer and broker clients and their members to take control of their wellness, marking a significant shift towards preventive care."
Reperio worked with Springbuk to develop a customized “card” within the Springbuk application that identifies the number of members in the employer’s population who may qualify for Reperio’s annual biometric screening program and a 12-month savings opportunity estimate based on assumptions of program success.
“We are excited to partner with Springbuk to offer their members an integrative, secure and easy-to-use biometric health screening kit,” said Travis Rush, CEO and co-founder of Reperio Health. “It’s our expressed intent to help them — and thousands of others — prioritize their preventive health with actionable insights. We’re proud to be in a collaborative effort to do just that.”
About Springbuk
Springbuk is a leading-edge health analytics intelligence platform that empowers employers and consultants to sharpen their benefits strategy, advance employee health, and contain costs. The innovative solution offers deep analytic insights, allows data-informed decision-making, and provides curated action steps and strategic direction to maximize return on employee benefit investments.
About Reperio Health
Reperio Health is the only provider of at-home and onsite comprehensive health screenings with instant results. An innovation in preventive care, Reperio’s patented technology pairs a mobile app with FDA-cleared devices, bringing a consumer-grade experience to biometric screenings. The solution modernizes the costly and inaccessible screening processes deployed today and reaches every corner of the healthcare industry—including employers, providers, payers and more. Clients are empowered by metrics-driven insights and HIPAA-compliant data integration to bolster their wellness, benefits and population health management offerings.
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HR Practice
Pipefy | January 15, 2024
Pipefy, the global industry leader in AI-driven process automation, announced the launch of Pipefy AI for HR, with customizable chatbots that are available to help employees, 24/7. Pipefy AI for HR delivers instant and centralized access to policies, forms, data, and other information frequently requested from HR teams.
Pipefy AI for HR gives employees a single portal in which they can not only find the information and documents they need, but also submit requests, such as for vacation time or reimbursements. Employees can use the chatbot to ask questions about PTO, research open roles within the company, or reference company policies. The chatbot is available in any language and accessible on any device.
For HR teams, Pipefy for AI means more face time with employees, better SLA attainment, and more time to focus on HR strategy. Pipefy AI helps HR teams make data-driven decisions by providing fast access to data, process insights, and crucial metrics such as attrition and employee satisfaction. For example, HR professionals can ask Pipefy AI questions such as “What are the top factors contributing to turnover in the sales department?”
“Pipefy AI for HR is all about helping HR teams deliver exceptional employee experiences,” said Alessio Alionco, CEO of Pipefy. “It does this by improving response times and giving employees more autonomy. Beyond this, Pipefy AI gives HR professionals more time for the 1:1 contact and strategic planning that truly make a difference for employees and the company as a whole. From a process automation perspective, this AI tool works like a virtual assistant, automating workflows, handling routine tasks, answering common questions, and routing incoming requests.”
Alionco added, “Generative AI solutions such as ours are ideal to help HR professionals streamline their workload and improve employee experiences – and their adoption is accelerating. In fact, according to Gartner, 81% of HR leaders have explored or implemented artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve process efficiency within their organizations.”
In a recent Pipefy survey, 79% of business and IT leaders said that they expect the combination of artificial intelligence and process automation – such as Pipefy AI – to increase efficiency by at least 25%.
Importantly, Pipefy AI for HR delivers industry-leading security features and certifications, to help make sure that teams are safe, secure and in compliance.
About Pipefy
Pipefy delivers a leading business process automation platform that increases team productivity and efficiency, centralizes data, and standardizes processes for teams in IT, Finance, HR, Customer Operations and more. Through its no-code process automation and AI framework, Pipefy helps businesses achieve operational efficiency and optimal productivity for every team in every department. Among its many recognitions, Pipefy was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing companies in North America in November, 2022.
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