Women are from Facebook, Men are from LinkedIn: MassMutual Survey Reveals Interesting Social Media Trends Among Retirement Plan Participants

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The results of a nationwide survey of American workers who are eligible to participate in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan indicate there is growing appetite for learning about retirement and other financial topics through social media outlets – but the way information is consumed varies by age, gender and income level.

According to the data, "women are from Facebook, men are from LinkedIn" with 74% of women routinely using Facebook vs. 59% of men. The opposite holds true of LinkedIn where about twice as many participant users are men -- 32% vs. 15% of women. The gender difference is more pronounced in this most recent study compared to 2011. Twitter also has more male participant users at 17% compared to 10% women.

Significantly, participants who are actively contributing to their plan are more likely to use social media than those who are not contributing, indicating higher engagement overall. Likewise, participants who also save outside of their workplace plan are even more likely to use social media including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook in that order. LinkedIn is used by 36% of participants with household income (HHI) exceeding $100k, but only by 15% of participants with HHI of $50k or less.

71% of retirement plan participants "routinely" use one or more social media sites. However, the percentage of participants that have used social media for information or advice about their workplace plan has grown from 5% to 6% since 2011. While the number overall is small, it equates to approximately 5 million participants who have used social media for this purpose, indicating that it is used to supplement rather than replace the participant's primary retirement plan website.

"Participants in their 30s are far more likely (14%) to use social media for retirement information or advice than older or younger participants, and this number has increased from just 6% in 2011, a significant jump. This may represent an important window of opportunity to reach these participants at a critical time in their retirement savings lifecycle," says Elaine Sarsynski, executive vice president, MassMutual's Retirement Services Division and chairman, MassMutual International LLC. Among participants age 50+, 57% use Facebook

The proprietary survey, sponsored by MassMutual Retirement Services and conducted by Brightwork Partners, also showed that retirement tops the list of savings objectives. Overall, "saving enough for retirement" has surpassed "keeping up with monthly expenses" as the biggest financial worry, up significantly to 24% from 18% in 2011. It was also cited as a major savings objective by 63% of participants, 21 points higher than the second most-cited worry of "paying down debt."

On a positive note, participants in general are saving more, with the average retirement savings rate among those surveyed at 10.5%, up from 9% two years ago, showing an increased commitment to this goal.

"Social media usage is up across the board since 2011 with the biggest increase in LinkedIn usage by participants at 24%, which is a 50% increase," says Merl Baker, principal, Brightwork Partners. "Facebook has broad appeal across all age groups but clearly there is an opportunity for providers to target messaging by gender, age and income," he adds. "LinkedIn is the dominant media for business purposes and appeals to all age groups. MassMutual's sponsorship of this research supports its focus on communicating with participants in the most effective manner possible," adds Baker.

"MassMutual Retirement Services believes this type of research is critical to identifying ways to connect with retirement savers based on their preferences. We will continue to conduct and use research such as this to help participants make appropriate retirement planning and saving decisions," adds Sarsynski.

The nationwide survey was conducted online between February 18 and March 11, 2013, and included 2,081 defined contribution plan participants who are eligible to participate in a 401(k), 403(b), 457 or similar workplace retirement plan. Data was trended to the initial survey conducted two years ago (June/July 2011).

For more information about MassMutual Retirement Services, please contact your retirement plan professional or call MassMutual at (888) 626-4911.

About MassMutual
Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders consistently since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company's strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

MassMutual's Retirement Services Division has been serving retirement plans for more than 65 years. It offers a full range of products and services for corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers' defined benefit, defined contribution and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It serves approximately 3 million participants.

For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or find MassMutual on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+. For information regarding MassMutual's Retirement Services Division, you may also visit massmutual.com/retire or find us on Facebook.com/RetireSmart and YouTube.com/RetireSmart.

Copyright ©2013 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and affiliates, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved.

About Brightwork Partners LLC
Brightwork Partners LLC is a research-based consultancy focusing on product, service and distribution issues in retail and institutional financial services. Best known for its work among advisors, Brightwork supports clients who distribute retail investment and institutional retirement products through non-proprietary advisor channels. Brightwork's research is based on work among business owners; high net worth individuals; retail advisors; participants and former participants in qualified plans; plan sponsors; advisors who sell retirement services; consultants; and TPAs who administer retirement plans. Brightwork Partners works with most of the leading mutual fund companies, insurance companies and broker/dealers active in these product areas.

Brightwork Partners LLC was founded in 1999. The firm is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

Copyright ©2013 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and affiliates, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved.

Contact: Lisa Reilly
(860) 562-5133
[email protected]

SOURCE MassMutual Retirement Services