Why Gen Z is money-confident but confused about employee benefits
Gen Z is financially confident but confused by benefits. This article explains why—and what employers can do to close the gap.
Key takeaways
Gen Z is confident about their future but unclear on benefits, with only 72% familiar with what employers offer.
65% of Gen Z will consider switching jobs for better financial benefits, creating a big retention opportunity.
Mobile, bite-sized content works best for educating Gen Z on 401(k)s and other benefits.
Real-time communications can drive real 401(k) plan engagement, replacing outdated annual presentations.
Digital tools and advice meet Gen Z where they already are, with their willingness to adopt new technologies.
Gen Z is financially confident but confused by benefits. This article explains why—and what employers can do to close the gap.
Today’s youngest employees are entering the workforce with a mix of optimism and tech fluency that sets them apart from every generation before them.
Through our 2025 Retirement Readiness Report, we’ve found that Gen Z is confident about their long-term retirement outlook, eager to adopt emerging financial tools like AI, and more likely than any other group to switch jobs for better financial benefits.
But there’s a gap: Gen Z is also the least familiar generation with the financial benefits their employers currently offer.
For HR and business leaders, this disconnect presents a clear opportunity.
By modernizing how financial benefits are communicated—and delivering education in formats Gen Z already embraces—employers can strengthen engagement, boost retention, and set up younger workers for long-term financial success.
The Gen Z paradox: Confidence without clarity
Data from the 2025 Betterment Retirement Readiness Report paints a clear picture of this emerging workforce:
- High confidence: An impressive 88% of Gen Z report being at least somewhat confident they will have enough saved for retirement. This confidence, while potentially reflecting their longer retirement timelines, suggests a positive—though possibly unexamined—outlook on their financial journey.
- High desire: Strong financial benefits are desired by Gen Z as they plan their careers. 65% of Gen Z (the highest of any generation) are most likely to switch jobs based on financial benefits.
- Low familiarity: Despite valuing financial benefits, Gen Z employees are the least likely to be familiar with their current employer's benefits. Only 72% of Gen Z are familiar with their benefits, compared to 80% of employees overall.
These data points about Gen Z come to life as a real-world challenge for business leaders: Younger employees are confident about retirement, care about benefits, but they aren't engaging with the details of your retirement plan.
But there’s more to Gen Z’s story that can help modern business leaders understand this generation’s needs.
Gen Z embraces the future (and you should too)
Like many younger generations throughout history, Gen Z is comfortable navigating our new financial ecosystem that heavily leverages technology.
- Embracing AI: 34% of Gen Z are using AI technologies for financial advice, compared to just 22% of all employees.
- Interested in crypto: 46% of Gen Z are interested in crypto, significantly higher than Gen X (25%) or Baby Boomers (19%).
Gen Z is digitally fluent and comfortable with innovative, often complex, financial concepts. It’s vital not to assume that they are uneducated about finances. That’s not the case.
The real issue: The financial benefits delivery model of yesterday doesn’t fit Gen Z’s world of today.
Here’s what you can do to start engaging Gen Z:
The employer opportunity: Redesigning benefits education for Gen Z
The solution isn't to hold another long, in-person presentation. It’s to meet Gen Z where they are: on their phones, with just-in-time, data-driven nudges.
Here are three tips to help business and HR leaders communicate with Gen Z about financial benefits:
1. Make it mobile and bite-sized
Gen Z consumes information differently. They expect instant, easily digestible content.
Action item: Break down complex benefits like 401(k) matching into short, engaging videos (under 60 seconds), interactive infographics, and FAQ cards accessible via a mobile app. Think of benefits education like a social media feed that employees can scroll to digest information easily and quickly.
2. Leverage just-in-time nudges
Don’t wait for annual enrollment. Deliver information before and when it’s needed.
Action item: Implement smart, personalized nudges. For example, a new hire should receive a reminder about their 401(k) eligibility the day they are eligible to enroll, complete with a direct link. Or, a notification when they receive a raise, suggesting they consider increasing their deferral rate.
3. Integrate with tech tools
Since Gen Z is already using tech for financial guidance, give them access to modern tools within your benefits platform.
Action item: Choose a financial wellness partner that utilizes tech-driven personalization to provide relevant advice (e.g., “Based on your age and salary, here is what maximizing your match could mean for your retirement savings”). This approach mirrors the digital financial experiences they already prefer.
Betterment can help you connect with Gen Z
At Betterment at Work, we partner with employers to deliver a financial benefits experience built for today’s digital-first workforce.
In addition to a modern, scalable 401(k) plan, we help you support your employees with:
- Easy-to-digest content: A financial planning hub with videos, webinars, and short articles that make financial education simple and accessible whenever employees need it.
- Digital advice: In-app retirement guidance and personalized emails that help employees navigate key 401(k) decisions.
- Chat support: With texting and messaging apps being the norm for Gen Z, we offer chat support (in addition to email and call) for all employees.