This Q&A follows a fireside chat featuring Jenna Moore from CECP and Maeve Miccio from Fidelity Investments as part of a breakfast event last month on Purpose Meets Planning: Tailoring Engagement and Programs for the Multigenerational Workplace.
Q: I saw Fidelity Charitable® released a study on charitable living and retirement. Can you share some of the highlights?
A: Yes, Fidelity Charitable® surveyed 2,500 people (ages 50-80) who donate $500 or more per year to understand how they approach charitable giving before and during retirement. Some of the key findings of the study include 78% of respondents—who are both pre-retirees and retirees—said charitable giving is a significant/important role in their lives; and more than half give more than $1,000 annually.
Related to how much time they are giving, an incredible 71% of pre-retirees said they volunteered at least once in the past year, with 55% of retirees reporting the same level of volunteer engagement—but they’re less likely to volunteer as they approach 80.
Those who are approaching retirement are also interested in phasing into, and tapering down in retirement, and many are working with financial advisors, although they have limited knowledge of charitable giving strategies that can help them increase their impact and tax savings.
Q: That’s interesting, what does it mean to “taper down into retirement”?
A: Fidelity refers to Phased Retirement as a workforce management strategy designed to address the situation of employees retiring too quickly, potentially resulting in a loss of valuable institutional knowledge and expertise. A phased retirement program allows employees to gradually reduce their working hours or responsibilities leading up to their full retirement.
Two main thoughts come to mind:
Q: You mentioned Gen X was represented in that survey, but there are a lot of people in Gen X that are not nearing retirement yet (age 45-57). What are some observations of Gen X that can impact employee engagement programs?
A: Gen X is often considered the “forgotten generation”, but they’re an incredibly important component of the philanthropic sector. Many are in their top earning years and stand to benefit substantially from the incoming generational wealth transfer. But Gen X continues to be pulled from all sides. They may be saddled with student debt and as the sandwich generation, they can be caught between caring for their parents and their kids, while also managing employees at work.
In terms of charitable giving, they tend to be very pragmatic and analytical in their approach. They’re under a lot of pressure so this might not be the group that is responsible for organizing complex events or campaigns, but may find value in simple engagements like voting for a nonprofit, showing up to an on-the-clock volunteer event, making a recurring gift, etc.
I also think financial wellness that is inclusive of charitable giving education will resonate because they often lack confidence around long-term financial planning, even though they’re in their top earning years and likely would benefit from tax-efficient strategies like using a donor-advised fund or bunching.
Q: How about Millennials and Gen Z. We’ve all heard the statistics around why charitable giving and living is important to them, but does anything in particular stand out to you about their mindset?
A: We’ve seen these generations activate themselves in social issues and charitable living post-2016. I intentionally said “charitable living” because this generation views activities aside from giving money or time as part of their overall contribution to society. For instance, sharing causes on social media, civic engagement and buying socially responsible products are part of their philanthropic lifestyle.
Millennials and Gen Z look at charitable giving and volunteering as less of a “nice to do”, and more of a way to correct a problem or create positive change in their communities and beyond.
For these generations, lean into a variety of participation opportunities outside of financial contributions. When we think about addressing this demographic it’s important to consider their life events vs. their age.
Q: As you work with companies, knowing there are different dynamics at play (i.e. budget, staff, company demographics), what are common pitfalls you see in terms of workplace and corporate program design?
A: Sometimes we see programs that seemingly were without input from employees, and they haven’t evolved over time. While I shared some thoughts based upon generalizations, these generations are not monolithic, and you will find nuance when you solicit feedback.
We also sometimes see programs become overly complex because they’re trying to achieve so many goals at the same time (i.e. honor legacy programs, align with strategic priorities, have multiple ways to engage). This can cause the average employee to be confused and not participate.
Q: What would be three tips to keep top of mind to support the multigenerational workforce?
A: Analyze your workforce demographics to understand the composition and solicit employee feedback. Gather data around what types of programs they want to see, and what realistic participation looks like for them.
Also, given the trend of phased retirement and financial wellness, I would encourage you explore what opportunities exist to add a charitable component to a phased retirement strategy with colleagues across HR, or to add tax-smart giving education into a financial wellness plan.
Finally, I think our field tends to primarily focus on Millennial and Gen Z workers, but we know that engaging Boomers and Gen X employees is just as important. Consider programs that resonate with these populations early on to help bridge the gap into their next life chapter.
About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments®, a global leader in helping customers strengthen and secure their financial well-being, also provides purpose-driven expertise and solutions for organizations and their employees. Access customized philanthropic guidance, a flexible workplace giving platform, and tax-smart donor-advised funds sponsored by Fidelity Charitable®, to make a greater impact.
You can contact Maeve Miccio to learn more.
Fidelity Charitable is the brand name for the Fidelity Investments® Charitable Gift Fund, an independent public charity with a donor-advised fund program. Various Fidelity companies provide services to Fidelity Charitable. The Fidelity Charitable name and logo, and Fidelity are registered service marks of FMR LLC, used by Fidelity Charitable under license.
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