Social media is a primary news source for many Americans; Pew Research reports that more than half of adults get some of their news from social media.
But social media may have a credibility problem when it comes to financial advice.
AB’s 16th-annual Inside the Minds of Plan Participants survey of 1,200 current and former defined contribution (DC) plan participants finds that social media consumption is up 10% from a year ago. Nonetheless, just 6% of respondents completely trust social-media financial advice. Conversely, 54% say they don’t trust it, in varying degrees.
This underscores a credibility void that DC plan sponsors are well positioned to fill through both financial education and investing insights. Sponsors could also learn a thing or two from social media’s creative approach to reaching investors.
Financial education remains a challenge for many participants. That’s evidenced by the roughly one-third of survey respondents who believe they can spend 10% of their savings annually in retirement and never run out of money. DC plan sponsors can help plug these knowledge gaps with financial education and wellness programs.
Employers can also highlight the features of some DC plans, such as target-date funds and guaranteed-income products. For example, respondents say their most pressing retirement need is a steady source of income. Yet only 36% are confident or very confident that they’ll have a comfortable retirement. Guaranteed-income benefits provide lifetime income and, in some cases, complete control over investments.
That doesn’t mean plan sponsors can’t learn a thing or two from social media’s mobile-friendly platforms and bite-size messages. These communication approaches could offer new ways to reach participants by promoting financial education, wellness and DC plan features.
Ultimately, DC plan sponsors may have more influence than they realize.
“Target date” in a fund’s name refers to the approximate year when a plan participant expects to retire and begin withdrawing from his or her account. Target-date funds gradually adjust their asset allocation, lowering risk as a participant nears retirement. Investments in target-date funds are not guaranteed against loss of principal at any time, and account values can be more or less than the original amount invested—including at the time of the fund’s target date. Also, investing in target-date funds does not guarantee sufficient income in retirement.
AB’s web-based plan-participant survey is based on a national sample of more than 1,200 employees. Of these, 1,000 were full-time workers participating in a workplace retirement savings plan at their current employer and 200 were retirees who had previously worked full time and participated in a workplace savings plan.