Many healthcare sector employees have made changes to their retirement saving and investments since the onset of COVID-19. Nonetheless, confidence in the amount they are saving and in the investment of their savings has been shaken.
Summary
COVID-19 and its economic consequences have impacted various elements of retirement readiness among workers in the healthcare sector—saving amounts, investment allocations, decision-making confidence, and expected retirement ages. The 2020 Healthcare Sector Financial Wellness Survey provides insights into these dynamics and other aspects of personal finance among the sector's workforce.
Key Insights
- Forty-six percent of healthcare workers report that their overall financial condition has worsened since the onset of COVID-19; 27% of these expect further worsening over the next year.
- Twenty-three percent of retirement savers have decreased the amount they are saving, with 7% stopping saving completely. On the other hand, 14% have increased the amount they are saving.
- Twenty-nine percent have become less confident that they are saving an adequate amount for retirement.
- Almost 30% of retirement savers have changed the investment allocation of their retirement savings—19% decreased the share in equities, 9% increased it.
- Twenty-six percent have become less confident that they are investing their retirement savings appropriately.
- Only 22% think they will annuitize any of their retirement savings, while 54% are unsure, even though annuitization would address healthcare workers' top financial priorities for retirement.
