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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Payroll
ADP | February 02, 2024
ADP®, a leading global technology company providing human capital management (HCM) solutions, announces the availability of ADP Assist, a cross-platform solution powered by generative AI (GenAI). ADP Assist enhances HR productivity, aids decision-making with data-driven insights, and streamlines day-to-day tasks for practitioners, managers, employees and executives with simple, human-like conversations. It harnesses the power of ADP's unparalleled data and expertise along with GenAI to simplify the world of work. ADP Assist builds on ADP's current AI capabilities and is currently in early release with some ADP clients today with a planned rollout for all clients.
"For 75 years, ADP has been at the forefront of payroll and HR innovation. With ADP Assist, we're providing an intelligent platform that simplifies HR tasks, leaving time for people leaders to be more strategic," says Maria Black, president and chief executive officer of ADP. "It's not just another technical solution; it's a comprehensive experience that combines ADP's unmatched HCM dataset and expertise to empower HR professionals, leaders and employees."
Data Drives Innovation
Data is at the core of all ADP products and solutions, informing and driving ADP's approach to innovation and AI technology. ADP has the industry's largest and deepest HCM dataset with over one million clients spanning 140 countries and 41 million wage earners globally. ADP's extensive and unique dataset is used to train ADP's AI to anticipate what users want and need. ADP Assist turns unmatched data into highly credible and actionable insights so that clients can make smarter decisions.
Easy, Smart and Human
"In a constantly changing workplace, innovation must keep up and meet people's real-world needs," says Sreeni Kutam, president of global product and innovation at ADP. "ADP Assist is the next step in our vision to create an HR ecosystem that is not only efficient but empowers employees and HR professionals alike. We've created a platform that understands the complexities and dynamics of modern HR management and offers smart, user-centric solutions. And, as always, we are committed to the secure and ethical use of data to support these technologies."
ADP Assist seamlessly integrates with ADP products across multiple ADP platforms. It anticipates what users want and proactively delivers actionable insights in plain language. Using an intuitive, conversational interface, ADP Assist provides valuable and contextual insights which touch every aspect of HR – payroll, time, talent, benefits, recruitment, analytics, reporting and compliance.
ADP's portfolio of currently available GenAI- and AI-powered tools deliver the following capabilities
Easy payroll. ADP Assist validates payroll information. It checks for payroll anomalies and uses GenAI to identify and help resolve missing tax registrations and answer questions by drawing on ADP's large, up-to-date dataset of compliance information. This saves HR effort and helps clients to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time.
Smart analytics. ADP Assist uses GenAI to dramatically simplify report creation by understanding context and generating insightful reports in an easy-to-understand format. HR practitioners and leaders can easily access internal, national and global workforce data from ADP's deep HCM dataset to analyze compensation, turnover, candidate profile relevancy and talent market insights.
Human insights. Intelligent and AI-based HR support for employees and clients can anticipate and solve common employee problems across HR, payroll, time and benefits. This reduces frustration for employees and eliminates certain low-value tasks for managers and HR practitioners.
ADP Assist can send personalized, proactive notifications to employees on their mobile device or desktop to help resolve HR issues quickly, keeping them productive.
AI-powered conversational interface makes it easy for employees to get the information they need without involving HR.
Search by Intent. The RUN Powered by ADP payroll and HR solution features an omni search bar that understands intent behind the search terms and uses GenAI to mine ADP's deep knowledge base to deliver easy-to-use and effective content.
"In the age of AI, the better the data, the better the artificial intelligence," says Holger Mueller, vice president and principal analyst for Constellation Research, Inc. "ADP is uniquely well-positioned in the field of HCM vendors given the breadth and depth of its data. ADP is using that data to make AI more human, focusing on customer success in a worldwide space. This really makes a difference not only for HR practitioners but for leaders and employees."
About ADP
Designing better ways to work through cutting-edge products, premium services and exceptional experiences that enable people to reach their full potential. HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits and Payroll. Informed by data and designed for people.
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Employee Benefits
Employee Navigator | January 10, 2024
Employee Navigator, one of the nation's leading benefits and HR solutions for brokers, and MGIS, a national insurance manager offering specialized insurance programs for doctors, have announced a new partnership to bring leading-edge HR and benefits technology integrations to doctor group practices. The new partnership builds on MGIS's relationship with Reliance Matrix, a leading benefits and absence provider, and its unique Employee Navigator integration.
"We believe the partnership with Employee Navigator will transform the employer and employee benefits experience," said Jeff Brunken, President of MGIS. "Through our relationship with Employee Navigator, our mutual clients will benefit from the technology-enabled efficiencies and ease of business that are so important in today's insurance marketplace. These integrations will help to drive participant engagement and client retention for our benefit brokers."
Through the Employee Navigator relationship, MGIS clients will benefit from a dedicated support team that will help brokers build out a full-service enrollment experience and provide additional case management support, at no additional cost. As always, MGIS account managers also provide white-glove, specialized account management and billing support, all critical features for brokers and administrators.
"MGIS has a long history of offering the highest quality insurance program for doctors. We're confident that our customers will receive an enhanced benefits experience through MGIS and Employee Navigator," said George Reese, CEO of Employee Navigator. "This partnership provides seamless, integrated benefits administration and will lead to a positive enrollment experience for brokers, employers and participants."
In 2023 MGIS announced its exclusive partnership with Reliance Matrix, a national leader in benefits solutions and absence management. Together, MGIS and Reliance Matrix serve doctors in all practice settings and medical specialties. An Employee Navigator carrier partner since 2022, Reliance Matrix more than doubled the number of benefit plans and employer clients enrolled and managed on the Employee Navigator platform in 2023, through more than 150 unique broker partners.
"Employee Navigator has played a big part in our overall success in the small and midsize employer market, thanks in part to our unique streamlined billing solution available on the platform," said Paula Hanson, AVP Benefit Technology Solutions for Reliance Matrix. "Our proprietary process raised the bar on service and convenience and continues to win fans among brokers and clients."
Marketed through independent brokers and agents, benefit solutions include Disability Guard for Doctors™, a unique long-term disability product blending the highly valued policy provisions of an individual product with the guaranteed issue and simplified administration of a group long-term disability plan, as well as short-term disability, group life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment plans.
MGIS also supports a High Limits Disability Insurance program, offering an increased level of protection for high earners, providing more robust and holistic protection for doctors above and beyond any group long-term disability and individual disability coverage. For those groups offering the high limits program, this specialized product will also be available on Employee Navigator as part of an integrated, holistic enrollment experience.
About MGIS
MGIS is a leading national insurance program manager experienced in building and managing specialized insurance programs for doctors. MGIS partners with highly rated insurers and focuses on disability and life insurance for practices of all sizes, types, and medical specialties. Insurance policies managed by MGIS are backed by the underwriting companies of Reliance Matrix and Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, and are marketed exclusively through select brokers and insurance advisers. MGIS services are provided by MGIS affiliated companies: The MGIS Companies, Inc., Medical Group Insurance Services, Inc., and MGIS Underwriting Managers, Inc.
About Employee Navigator
Employee Navigator is a rapidly growing benefits and HR software company integrated with over 400+ of the nation's leading insurance carriers, payroll companies, and TPA's. Its platform delivers brokers and employers a truly connected digital experience, streamlining the management of everything from online enrollment and onboarding to ACA reporting, time off tracking, and more. The company currently works with more than 5,000 brokers, providing benefits administration and HR products to over 175,000 companies and 14+ million employees and dependents.
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HR Practice
Aston Carter | January 05, 2024
Aston Carter announced deeper strategic specialization for its business. The brand will exclusively provide talent solutions across accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions. Its other solutions within governance, risk and compliance; customer support; and creative and marketing will shift to Allegis Group sister company TEKsystems, which has existing complementary services in those areas. The specialization will enhance Aston Carter's capabilities across its core offerings, increase capacity, and create efficiencies to support the unique needs of accounting, finance and corporate talent.
"At Allegis Group we are committed to refining and realigning our businesses to ensure that our customers' needs are always our top priority," said Jay Alvather, CEO of Allegis Group. "Aston Carter's clients and talent can expect the same level of excellent service today, with significantly enhanced capabilities and scale to better support those ever-evolving needs and opportunities."
To support the enhanced focus of Aston Carter's talent offerings, the brand has aligned under the leadership team at Actalent, an Allegis Group company that was built around a strategy of specialization. Led by Chad Koele, who will serve as president of both brands, Aston Carter will benefit from leadership, strategy and infrastructure that will support the business' ability to fill a growing need for specialized talent solutions in the marketplace.
"For over two decades, Aston Carter has provided highly sought-after talent to organizations around the world — and this move is another step in our evolution to help clients and professionals navigate changing business needs," said Lauren DeMarco-Stadtlander, Aston Carter managing director. "With the guiding hand of Chad's leadership team and their experience, Aston Carter is well-positioned to help our customers innovate and lead in their respective industries."
"I am excited by the prospect of creating new value for Aston Carter's clients and talent," said Chad Koele, president of Aston Carter. "Our team has put rigorous focus into a strategy of getting smaller to get better, specializing and segmenting across all lines of business and taking great care of our talent. Applying that same strategy to Aston Carter will bring increased growth and opportunity to its clients and talent as well as its internal teams, who we are thrilled to gain as part of the Actalent family."
About Aston Carter
Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® double diamond winner for both client and talent service.
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