Seek Opportunities To Help Employers With Retirement Plans: Realize that people are more likely to seek guidance from their employer rather than their financial advisor

These findings do not bode well for America's retirement preparedness. More than ever, it's critical that workers understand and make use of their retirement benefits. The silver lining within this gray cloud is that financial advisors' skills and knowledge are in greater demand than ever before. By working closely with plan sponsors, financial advisors can significantly improve how well employees understand their retirement plan and, ultimately, encourage them to contribute more assets to it. The Hartford's research discovered that employers have considerable influence, with one in five (19%) plan participants saying they look to their place of employment for guidance on retirement savings matters. Other key influencers were financial advisors (15%), spouses (13%) and immediate family (12%), according to the survey results. Employers ranked as especially influential with baby boomers. Automatically enrolling employees in their employer's retirement savings plan is another idea that has proven to be beneficial. A study by Hewitt Associates found that nine out of 10 employees participated in their employer's 401(k) plan if their company automatically enrolled them. Among other things, employees must be notified of the auto enrollment and they must be able to opt out.