This article summarizes the results of the inaugural Retirement Confidence Survey of College and University Faculty. The survey indicates that America’s higher education faculty are confident in their prospects for a comfortable retirement and, relative to all working Americans, they are doing a good job of preparing for retirement. While higher education faculty tend to be older, have higher incomes, and have higher education levels relative to the general working population – all of which would account for some of their better preparation and greater confidence – they also benefit from the distinctive retirement systems available to the higher education community. Defined benefit and/or defined contribution plans are available to most faculty, and higher education defined contribution plans are fundamentally different than private-sector 401(k) plans in some important ways. In higher education, defined contribution plans that are primary plans involve mandatory worker participation and involve specified employee and employer contribution levels set to result in meaningful account accumulations.
To read the entire article, go to EBRI Notes.
A TIAA-CREF Institute Trends and Issues Report provides a summary of the survey’s findings.
