Public Workers More Optimistic About Retirement

When it comes to retirement savings, public employees are generally more optimistic than the population as a whole, according to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trust. Nonetheless, awareness of the features of their retirement plans tends to be on the low side. Many people perceive the employee benefits received by public workers as being better than the private sector. Because tax dollars are the source for the benefits and salaries of public workers, this element sometimes makes them contentious as well. Where states are facing fiscal challenges, some turn to the public sector retirement plans as part of the solution. Key findings from Preparing for Retirement: Top Findings from a Survey of Public Workers, include:

• More than 2/3 of respondents were confident or very confident that they would have a financially secure retirement, significantly higher than private sector workers, as determined by other surveys such as EBRI's Retirement Confidence Survey.
• While public employees value their retirement plans, it is less important than job security, work-life balance, and healthcare. 
• 63% of women said they were very or somewhat confident in having a financially secure retirement, trailing men at 77%.
• Nearly nine in ten consider job security to be very or extremely important, compared to roughly half who consider a career in public service to be very or extremely important.
• Older workers tended to be more willing than younger workers to take a lower salary in return for higher retirement benefits.
• Three in five respondents would keep their retirement plan as is instead of making a change.

When you think about it, anything that increases certainty is highly valued by employees. Job security clearly fits in this category, but so does the preference for not changing the plan's design. Even the willingness to take a lower salary in exchange for higher retirement benefits is an indication that certainty is a key element.