Employers falling short of workers’ benefits expectations

While American workers depend heavily on employer-provided retirement and health benefits, companies aren’t fully satisfying those needs, according to two new studies.

In one study of 1,500 full-time US workers conducted by Economist Impact and sponsored by Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, only 30 percent of employees at midsize and large companies said they were strongly satisfied with their retirement plans.

The study also revealed a widespread lack of retirement confidence, with 57 percent of respondents uncertain of whether they could retire at the federal retirement age. That feeling diverges along racial lines, with 60 percent of Black, Hispanic, and Asian workers expressed doubts about retiring by the federal age, higher than the 50 percent of white workers who felt the same.

Furthermore, only 34 percent of all surveyed employees felt their employers communicated clearly about retirement plans, and a mere 26 percent were confident about their retirement income prospects.

Going beyond retirement benefits, the Nuveen-sponsored survey found just half of workers feel they can provide for their family’s health care needs, and just over three-fifths (62 percent) said they feel healthy enough to be effective at their job.

Despite workers’ need for health benefits, another survey from Lockton, an independent insurance brokerage and consulting firm, suggests employers might be less inclined to provider those safety nets.

Lockton’s annual national benefits survey, which focused on 2025 employee benefits programs across more than 1,600 employers nationwide, found a growing emphasis among employers on reducing costs.

While respondents to previous surveys were most concerned with attracting and retaining talent – that priority outpaced others by a two-to-one margin – employers in this year’s poll put cost-cutting on nearly equal footing with recruitment. In line with that shift in sentiment, Lockton estimates health care costs will rise anywhere from six percent to eight percent on average next year.

“The past few post-pandemic years can best be described as a war for talent with benefits being one of the primary tools for employers to differentiate themselves,” Tom Schaffler, who chairs the national executive committee for people solutions at Lockton, said in a statement.

“This year’s survey results indicate the re-emergence of a wave toward cost control and containment as economic factors mount and the price of healthcare continues to escalate, significantly outpacing inflation,” Schaffler said.