21 percent of gig workers also save in an employer-sponsored plan, since 17 percent of independent workers also have a regular employer. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Traditional workers—those with an employer who get W-2s—are saving for retirement, but so are independent or gig workers (72 percent compared with 56 percent of gig workers).
As might be expected, a T. Rowe Price survey of traditional and independent (gig) workers finds that among gig workers, the predominant method of saving for retirement is an IRA, at 40 percent—while traditional workers, predictably enough, rely on employer-sponsored plans (68 percent).
There is some crossover, of course; 33 percent of traditional workers say they save in a Roth or traditional IRA, while 21 percent of traditional workers and 22 percent of gig workers rely on a spouse's employer-sponsored plan.
And 21 percent of gig workers also save in an employer-sponsored plan, since 17 percent of independent workers also have a regular employer (48 percent of independent workers have multiple types of work, with some holding regular jobs in addition to doing gig work), and thus also have access to a retirement plan at work.
While independent workers, at 49 percent, are even more likely as traditional workers (47 percent) to say they feel they'll be financially ready for retirement, one might be surprised to hear that a sizable percentage also have more saved for retirement than traditional workers. Among respondents who have managed to save more than $250,000, 20 percent are gig workers, while 14 percent are traditional workers.
And both types of workers envision work continuing into retirement, although gig workers are “significantly” more likely to continue working “indefinitely.” Among traditional workers, 26 percent plan on “never working another day” while just 18 percent of gig workers look forward to that; 54 percent of traditional workers figure they'll work part time or freelance for a few years, compared with 52 percent of gig workers.
But 20 percent of traditional workers and 30 percent of gig workers both say they'll be “working indefinitely/never retire.”
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
