2 nd Annual CAP Member Research Presented by: Tricia Benn Director of Research, Business and Professional Research Group Rogers Publishing October, 2007
Agenda Summary Of Findings Methodology Demographic Profile Research Findings: Retirement Expectations Perceptions Of The CAP Plan Investment Knowledge And Behaviour The Plan Member Role The Plan Sponsor Role Key Take-Aways
2 nd Annual CAP Plan Member Research Background & Objectives Background: Many existing DB plans are being grandfathered, dim prospects for new DB plans 4 million+ working Canadians belong to capital accumulation plans Need for information on CAP plan members across Canada Objectives: Levels of satisfaction and value, and how the provisions of the DC plan influences plan members attitude toward his/her workplace and employer Determine plan member understanding of their retirement requirements and time spent planning Levels of understanding of the plan investment approach and understanding level of participation in and understanding of investment choices Expectations of the employer/provider/money manager Confidence in the plan and their retirement plans Make the results actionable
Summary of Findings Plan members Believe their understanding of a number of key metrics has improved over 2006 Understand a considerable portion of their current income will be required in retirement Spend less than 10 hours planning for retirement each year and the majority believe they are not spending enough time planning Demonstrate high levels of satisfaction with the plan and plan investment performance Want their plan to build enough to retire as soon as possible Confidence that the plan will provide the money they need to meet their retirement objectives is not strong and half think it is not likely they will retire at the age in their plan The investment focus is increasingly on the total dollar value of the plan rather than performance relative to an industry index The majority are satisfied with the number of investments they have to choose from (on average 13)
Summary of Findings (cont d) Nearly half report interest in having a formal financial plan that integrates their employee plan Average rate of return expectations are very high Members believe they can access plan information when and how they want Receptivity to automatic or mandatory enrolment in the CAP plan is fairly high The majority review their statements, but few report taking other important actions A company provided financial advisor is the one offering that stands out as having the greatest likelihood of being used by plan members Three quarters say they view their employer more positively because of the plan and other benefits and The majority would be reluctant to leave their employer because of the plan and other benefits Members are more likely to expect the employer to provide education and access to a financial advisor
Methodology Survey Type: Telephone survey Fielding Dates: July 25 August 29, 2007 Research Fielding: Ipsos-Reid Completed Surveys: 1,516 Employees who are offered DC/GRRSP Plans 1,122 participants of DC/GRRSP plans Margin of Error: +/-2.5%, nineteen times out of twenty
Demographic Profile: Region, Gender, Language Province Gender and Language East 8% Male 53% Female 47% Quebec 19% Ontario 41% English 82% French 18% West 32% All Respondents N=1,516 All Respondents n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Demographic Profile: Age, Marital Status Age Marital Status 18-34 31% Married 51% 55% 42% Single/never married 19% 27% 35-54 35% 47% Common-law 12% 11% 21% Divorced or separated 8% 10% 55+ 23% Widowed 2% 2% n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=394 Non-Participants DC/GRRSP Participants Non-Participants
Demographic Profile: Education, Working Status Education Working Status Less than high school 4% 6% Working full-time 62% 77% Completed high school Completed technical/trade school Some college or university Completed university 18% 17% 23% 17% 15% 22% 27% 28% Working part-time Selfemployed Not working 7% 16% 3% 5% 4% 6% Completed Post-graduate 13% 10% Retired 10% 11% n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=391 Non-Participants DC/GRRSP Participants Non-Participants
Demographic Profile: Workplace Union Membership Private vs. Public Number of Employees 32% 52% 500 or less 33% 32% Union member 27% Private sector 53% 501 to 1,800 11% 12% 1,801 to 4,500 10% 8% Not a member of the union 63% 68% Public sector 42% 41% 4,501 to 30,000 More than 30,000 20% 19% 12% 15% n=940 DC/GRRSP Participants n=297 Non-Participants DC/GRRSP Participants Non-Participants
Demographic Profile: Personal Income Which of the following categories best describes your total PERSONAL INCOME before taxes and other deductions? Less than $39,999 24% 39% $40,000 to less than $50,000 14% 13% Average $K $50,000 to less than $60,000 13% 14% DC/GRRSP Participants Non-Participants 60.2 53.0 $60,000 to less than $70,000 6% 9% $70,000 to less than $100,000 7% 15% $100,000 and over 6% 9% Don t know 16% 15% DC/GRRSP Participants Non-Participants n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=394 Non-Participants
Retirement Expectations
Understanding of Amount Needed to Fund Retirement Q1. Would you say your understanding is excellent, very good, somewhat good, somewhat poor, very poor or you have no understanding of - % Very Good/Excellent Understanding - 48% Amount needed to contribute to retirement plan to retire with amount of money you need 33% 2007 2006 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Actual Percent of Current Salary Required and Total Dollars Q9. How much of your current salary will you need to retire? Q10. How much do you estimate you will need to have saved in order to retire with that level of income? 100 percent 14% 15% 75% to less than 100% 29% 32% 50% to less than 75% 25% to less than 50% Less than 25% None 1% 1% 1% 3% 8% 8% 6% Don t know 2007 9% 2006 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2006: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2007 2006 37% 37% Savings estimate required for this level of income Average 77% 73% $1,366,326
Time Spent on Retirement Planning Q 12. How much time would you say you have spent planning for your retirement over the past year? No time 9% Avg # Less than 1 hour 8% DC/GRRSP Participants 9.5 hrs 1 hour to less than 5 hours 5 hours to less than 10 hours 21% 21% 10 hours to less than 15 hours 12% 15 hours to less than 20 hours 20 hours or more 8% 17% DC/GRRSP Participants n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=394 Non-Participants
Attitudes Regarding Time Planning Q 8. Please indicate whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with the following statements. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree In the past, I have not given enough attention or time to my employee retirement plan(s) 37 20 17 32% 26% 58% DC/GRRSP Participants Time Spent planning 11.3 8.5 7.8 n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Perceptions of the CAP Plan
Understanding of the Plan Q1. Would you say your understanding is excellent, very good, somewhat good, somewhat poor, very poor or you have no understanding of - % Excellent/Very Good Understanding - 46% Employee retirement plan(s) 37% 2007 2006 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Current Satisfaction Levels with Employer and Retirement Plans/Investments Q2. Overall, how satisfied are you with? Would you say you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not very satisfied or not at all satisfied? - % Very/Somewhat Satisfied - Your employee retirement plan(s) 84% 88% The performance of your investments in your employee retirement plan(s) 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2006: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 83% 89% 2007 2006
Rating the Importance of Aspects of the DC/GRRSP Plans Q 28. How important are the following features of your employee retirement plan(s)? Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important? Very important Somewhat important Portability, that is being able to move your employee retirement plan with you if you changed employers 69% 16% 85% 2006 62% 17% 79% Simplicity, that is being able to understand and easily choose your own investments within your employee retirement plan(s) ` 60% 25% 85% The number of investments you have to choose from 40% 40% 80% 2006 39% 34% 73% Asset consolidation, which allows you to bring assets in from outside of your employee retirement plan. 31% 36% 67% 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Actions Members Have Taken with their DC/GRRSP in Past 12 Months Q 25. Have you done any of the following with your employee retirement plan(s) within the past year? Reviewed all retirement investment statements 63% Increased the amount you contribute Used information provided by your employer to make investment decisions Changed investment options or rebalanced your investment mix 30% 29% 34% Used online tools provided by your employer to make investment decisions Attended educational sessions on your employee retirement investment options Used hard copy tools provided by your employer to make investment decisions Sought out advice from employer provided financial advisors for your investment choices 27% 26% 25% 24% Made a withdrawal from your employee retirement savings plan(s) Decreased the amount you contribute None of the above % 9 8 21 2007: n=1,122 DC/RRSP participants
Plan Services Provided According To Members Q 29. Does your employer provide any of the following related to your employee retirement plan(s)? Printed manuals on the retirement plan and the investment opportunities 69% Printed newsletters 60% 1-800 toll free call center 60% Retirement plan information on an employer website 54% Website retirement planning tools and calculators 54% Retirement plan information on an investment company website A company-provided financial advisor that you could contact free of charge for advice 51% 49% Email newsletters Education sessions after work hours that your significant other could also participate in 41 35 Education sessions during work hours 42% A financial advisor who would charge for advice 18 DC/GRRSP Participants None of the above 10 n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants only
Actions Taken As A Result Of Plan Provided Services Q 30. Have you taken action or done something with your employee retirement plan(s) as a result of any of these items provided by your employer within the past 12 months? Website retirement planning tools and calculators Company-provided financial advisor free of charge Education sessions during work hours Printed newsletters Retirement plan information on an employer website Email newsletters Printed manuals on retirement plan & inv opportunities Retirement plan info on investment comp website Education sessions after work with significant other 1-800 toll free call center 42% 41% 41% 40% 39% 39% 38% 35% 29% 26% A financial advisor who would charge for advice 26% DC/GRRSP Participants n=206-787 DC/RRSP participants only who have access to each service
Likelihood Of Using Plan Services Not Currently Offered Q 31. How likely would you be to use the following information sources to make your employee retirement plan(s) investment choices. Would you be very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely or not at all likely? Very Likely Somewhat Likely Company-provided Financial Advisor free of charge 41% 35% 76% Printed manuals on retirement plan and investment opps 19% 40% 59% Education sessions during work hours 27% 30% 57% Printed newsletters 17% 40% 57% Website retirement planning tools and calculators 19% 35% 53% Retirement plan information on an employer website 16% 36% 52% Retirement plan info on investment comp website 19% 32% 51% Email newsletters 18% 31% 49% Education sessions after work with significant other 16% 30% 46% 1-800 toll free call center 17% 26% 42% A financial advisor who would charge for advice 6% 16% 24% n=varies from 253-789 DC/GRRSP participants who say they are not currently offered the service
Investment Knowledge and Behaviour
Confidence in Investment Decisions and DC/GRRSP Plan Q 4. How confident are you that Very confident Somewhat confident Employee retirement plan(s) will provide the amount of money you need to meet your financial retirement objectives 26% 45% 71% 2007 23% 48% 71% 2006 2007: 1,122 divided into thirds, n=383 2006: n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Expectations of Performance and Value Q11. And, which of the following would you say is more important to you? The total dollar value of your employee plan 56% 65% 2007 2006 The performance of your employee retirement plan relative to an industry index 29% 34% 2007: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants only 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants only
Member Risk Tolerance Q 18. In general, how would you describe your own risk tolerance when it comes to your investments? Aggressive, 16% Moderate, 47% Conservative, 32% n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants only
Approach to Investment Choice Q24. Which of the following statements best summarizes your approach to investment choice? I am satisfied with the investment choices that are already available in my employee retirement plan(s) 59% I would like to have more investment choices in my employee retirement plan(s), but realistically don t have the time to take advantage of more choices. 19% I would like to have more investment choices in my employee retirement plan(s) and would take advantage of those choices 15% DC/GRRSP Participants 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Investment Selection within Plan Q20. Does your employee retirement plan(s) allow you to choose any of the investments you hav within your employee retirement plan(s)? Q21A. And, do you actually choose any of your investments within your employee retirement plan(s)? Yes, 51% No, 40% n=561 retirement plan allows choice of investments Do you actually choose any of your investments within your employee retirement plan(s)? 74% In other words, 38% of participants say they can make investment choices and do n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants only
Number of Investment Options Q 21b. Approximately how many funds are you able to choose from within your employee retirement plan(s)? Q 22. How many funds are you currently holding within your employee retirement plan(s)? 1-5 24% 6-10 21% 11-15 12% Average # Funds able to choose from 13 16-20 11% Funds held (excluding 0) 5.4 21+ 27% n=416 choose investments within plan
Employee Plan Profile Q 23. What is the biggest holding within your employee retirement plan(s)? Canadian equities 60% Bonds/fixed income 12% Foreign equities 12% Cash 2% Other 10% Don't know 3% n=310 mentioned no. funds invested in
Investment Opportunity and Risk by Asset Class Q.19a. In your opinion, which asset classes provide the greatest investment opportunities today? Q.19b. And, which pose the greatest risk? Real estate Greatest Risk 11 Greatest Opportunity 27% Canadian equities 5 27% Foreign equities 30 15% Bonds/fixed income 7 9% Cash 8 3% Hedge funds 19 1% Don t know 17 11% n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants only
Understanding of Aspects of Investing for Retirement Q1. Would you say your understanding is excellent, very good, somewhat good, somewhat poor, very poor or you have no understanding of - % Excellent/Very Good Understanding - Own investment risk tolerance 39% 46% Amount needed to contribute to retirement plan to retire with amount of money you need 33% 48% 36% Asset Allocation 30% 2007 2006 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Use of a Financial Advisor Q 13. Do you have a financial advisor? Have a Financial Advisor, 60% No, 40% n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants
Interest in Working with Financial Advisor Q 13. Do you have a financial advisor? Q 14. How interested would you be in having a financial advisor provide you with a formal written financial plan integrating your employee retirement plan(s), investment, insurance, estate planning needs etcetera? Very interested 22% Somewhat interested 24% Not very interested 15% Average Price willing to pay for a plan DC/GRRSP Participants Avg $378 Not at all interested 24% Already have one 11% DC/GRRSP Participants n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=394 Non-Participants
Financial Plan Q 15. Do you have a formal, written financial plan that outlines at what age you will retire and the amount of money you will need to retire by that age? Q 16. What are the following according to your written financial plan? Have a formal, written financial plan that outlines at what age you will retire and the amount of money you will need to retire by that age 46% DC/GRRSP Participants DC/GRRSP Participants with a written financial plan (n=534) Retirement Age Approximate amount of money saved in order to retire Expected rate of return on investments year over year Average 59.4 years $2,832,262 Mean 20% Median 8.6% n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=394 Non-Participants
Likelihood of Retiring at Plan Age Q 17. How likely is it that you will retire before or at the retirement age in your written financial plan? Very likely 50% Somewhat likely 27% Not very likely 13% Not at all likely 9% n=509 DC/GRRSP Participants who will retire between 18 and 99
The Plan Member Role
Plan Member Information Accessibility Q 4. How confident are you that - % Very/Somewhat Confident - When you have questions about your employee retirement plan(s) you can access the information you need when you want it 90% When you have questions about your employee retirement plan(s) you can access the information you need in a way that is most useful to you 87% DC/GRRSP Participants n=383 DC/GRRSP Participants
Sources of Retirement Plan Contributions Q 26. What percentage of your salary a) Do you contribute to your employee retirement plan(s) b) Does your employer contribute to your employee retirement plan(s) Respondent Employer Average 7.3% 6.2% Don t know 23% 27% Respondent Employer 13% 13% 13% 14% 4% 3% 3% 2% 7% 5% 10% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1% 8% 10% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% 11%+ n=1122 DC/GRRSP participants
Automatic / Mandatory Enrolment Q 27a. Given the following choices, which would you prefer? A mandatory enrolment in the company retirement plan, which means that employers would automatically place all of their employees into the defined contribution plan and employees cannot opt out of the plan 19% 24% An optional participation in the company retirement plan, which means that employers would not automatically place their employees into the defined contribution plan and employees would have to sign up to participate in the plan. 33% 40% An automatic enrolment in the company retirement plan which means employers would automatically place all of their employees in to the defined contribution plan and employees could opt out of the plan if they did not want to participate. 32% 36% n=1122 DC/GRRSP Participants n=394 Non-Participants DC/GRRSP Participants Non-Participants
Member Contribution Increases Q 27b. Given the following choices, which would you prefer? Your contribution to your company pension plan increases automatically with your salary increases 59% Your contribution to your company pension plan stays the same until you submit a request for your contribution to increase 33% n=1,122 DC/RRSP respondents
The Plan Sponsor Role
Attitudes Toward DC/GRRSP Plan Sponsors Q 8. Please indicate whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with the following statements. - % Strongly/Somewhat Agree - I think of my employer more positively because of the retirement plan and other benefits offered as part of my compensation package. 75% 80% I would be reluctant to leave my employer because of the retirement plan and other benefits offered as part of my compensation package. 55% 58% 2007 2006 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants
Expectations of the Plan Sponsor: Education and Advice Q 8. Please indicate whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with the following statements. - % Strongly/Somewhat Agree - I expect my employer to provide appropriate EDUCATION, such as seminars and newsletters so that I can make the best investment choices in my employee retirement plan(s). 71% 82% I expect my employer to provide access to a FINANCIAL ADVISOR so that I can make the best investment choices in my employee retirement plan(s). 65% 74% 2007 2006 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants
Expectations of the Plan Sponsor: Investor Services Q 8. Please indicate whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with the following statements. - % Strongly/Somewhat Agree - When I retire, I would like to be able to keep my employee retirement investments with the same investment manager, rather than having to change providers or look for other investment products 66% 72% 2007: n= 1,122 DC/GRRSP participants 2006: n=1,122 DC/GRRSP participants 2007 2006
Key Take-Aways The plan successfully serves many functions including positive impression and retention Perceived understanding of and satisfaction with the plan is increasing Overall impression of employer is more positive There is a significant planning gap between member expectations, plan assumptions and goals compared to plan assets and participation Managing employees expectations is critical as rate of return expectations may be out of line as well as ultimate goal and current levels of contribution Automatic/mandatory enrolment options should be considered to minimize risk and simplify plan objectives/resourcing Employee engagement is critical Members are not taking action; however, they also believe they are not spending enough time planning for retirement Access to education and a financial advisor is expected Confidence in the plan delivering required retirement income and retiring at plan age is low
Key Take-Aways (cont d) Simplicity The goal for plan members is getting enough money built in their plan to retire Communications clearly communicate plan purpose (income replacement ratio) Investment choices Consider increasing maximum limit for employee contributions or advocate for increased tax deferred savings Should retirement planning be re-framed?
Thank You