Employees are failing to act on fears for financial security by planning for retirement, according to new research by MetLife.
Despite the global financial crisis, the MetLife 2011 International Employee Benefits Trends Survey found that many employees across Australia, Brazil, India, the UK and Mexico, under-save, lack retirement planning and irregular ownership of essential financial products.
Workers across all countries surveyed were worried about living on retirement money, yet 75% of Australian and 55% of UK workers admitted to falling behind on their retirement goals.
Only 30% in Brazil, 25% in Mexico and 15% in India had taken steps to plan for their old age.
UK employees fail to take full advantage of benefits, with only 28% taking up private medical insurance despite 72% of employers making it available.
Nearly a third of Brazilian employees chose not to sign up for benefits offered in the workplace, while Mexican workers experience widely variant benefits packages subject to their location.
Despite nearly half of Brazilian workers looking no further than their next paycheck and only 40% of UK workers and Australian workers assessing their income protection needs, sudden loss of income still ranks in the top three of employee financial concerns in all five nations.
Eugene Marks, executive vice president at MetLife, and head of the Corporate Relationships Group, said: “Whether you are a multinational firm operating in numerous countries or a large local organisation, your greatest resource and competitive differentiator are your people.
“Our research shows providing the right mix of benefits helps to increase loyalty and job satisfaction, and achieve top enterprise objectives.
“Organisations should think globally and act locally, especially with the growing complexity of retirement, financial, and health and wellness programmes that are available today.”
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