Bosses assume workers are on track for retirement when they’re not — why what your employer doesn’t know could hurt you

Core Insights - There is a significant disparity in perceptions of retirement readiness between U.S. employers and employees, with 78% of employers believing their staff are prepared, while only 45% of employees share this belief [1] Group 1: Communication and Literacy Issues - The gap in retirement readiness perceptions may indicate deeper issues such as communication breakdowns between employers and employees, lack of benefit literacy, and financial pressures that hinder retirement savings [2] Group 2: Retirement Plan Access - The trend has shifted from traditional pension plans to defined-contribution plans, with only 15% of private-sector workers having access to defined benefit plans in 2023, compared to 67% who have access to defined-contribution plans [5] Group 3: Financial Challenges - Many employees feel unprepared to save for retirement due to inflation impacting wages, which reduces their ability to contribute to retirement savings [6] - A Vanguard report indicates that lower-income Americans are likely to retire with insufficient savings to maintain their current standard of living, highlighting the challenges in budgeting for retirement [7]