Typical U.S. workers hate the idea of the government making them convert a portion of their 401( k) plan cash into a lifetime stream of income when they retire, according to analysts at the Investment Company Institute.
Sarah Holden and other analysts at the ICI have presented data supporting that position in a new survey results summary.
The survey team asked asked the survey participants to react to a series of statements about retirement savings plans.
One of those statements was this: "The government should require retirees to trade a portion of their retirement plan accounts for a fair contract that promises to pay them income for life from the government."
About 79% of all participants in the latest survey said they disagreed with the idea of an annuitization mandate. The overall percentage who oppose the idea of an annuitization mandate is up from 71% in 2009, when ICI released a summary of the results from the first wave of the retirement savers' opinion survey.
Demographic Slices
Survey participants younger than 30 with household income under $30,000 per year were least negative about the idea of an annuitization mandate: Only 63% of the participants in that demographic group said they opposed a mandate.
Participants 50 or older with household income of $50,000 per year or higher were the most negative about the annuitization mandate statement. About 83% of the participants in that group rejected the idea of a mandate.
