Employees' financial literacy helps employers as workforce ages

Despite not bearing any of the direct financial risk associated with 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans, many employers provide financial education resources to employees for several reasons.

Employees' decisions to delay their retirement dates by one or even several years can result in substantial financial and operational obstacles for employers, including reduced productivity, inflated medical care costs and jobsite safety issues, experts say.

A high rate of employees choosing to postpone retirement — particularly at the management and senior executive levels — also tends to negatively affect an employer's ability to attract and retain young talent.

“It makes moving people through your organization much more challenging,” said Robyn Credico, a Washington-based defined contribution practice leader at Towers Watson & Co. “You can't move those employees out of the workforce, which blocks opportunities for your up-and-coming workers. (Older workers) also tend to be more costly from a health care perspective.”