Bold Ideas for Mending the Long-Term Saving Gap

How prepared are we to sustain ourselves and future generations into old age? There is currently a $70 trillion global retirement savings deficit and that gap will only widen. Addressing this challenge will take concerted action on the part of governments, employers, financial intermediaries and individuals.

Mercer’s new report, “Bold Ideas for Mending the Long-Term Saving Gap,” is part of our ongoing mission to help improve financial security for individuals globally. Bold solutions are needed — and helping to identify those solutions goes to the core of Mercer’s mission to make a difference in the lives of people by advancing their health, wealth and career.

In this new report, Mercer lays out the four bold solutions needed to Mend the Gap. 

  1. Spur a consumer revolution in financial fitness: Transforming saving into an engaging consumer experience could make it “cool,” just as the fitness revolution of the 1970s made exercising widely appealing.
  2. Help individuals know what “good” looks like: Give individuals access to smart tools, default options and advice that can help them increase their financial literacy and achieve success.
  3. Design smart systems to help ensure adequate savings: Given the many things competing for an individual’s paycheck and the lure of the immediate satisfaction over long-term security, voluntary contributions to long-term savings simply may never be enough.
  4. Redefine work and retirement: As the retirement age rises, keep valuable employees longer for a competitive advantage in the war for talent.
Without immediate action, the gap between expected annual income and the savings in the outdated pension systems of the eight largest countries will grow to $400 trillion by 2050—a growth of $28 billion each day.

With the application of creative and strategic thinking, we can transform the future. Download Mercer’s new report, “Bold Ideas for Mending the Long Term Saving Gap,” to learn more about these bold ideas and the factors contributing to the long-term saving gap. Together we can mend the gap.

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