Retirement Resilience in FAB: Inclusive Pension Plan Design for a Diverse and Decentralized Workforce

Retirement Resilience in FAB: Inclusive Pension Plan Design for a Diverse and Decentralized Workforce
January 28, 2026 10 mins

Retirement Resilience in FAB: Inclusive Pension Plan Design for a Diverse and Decentralized Workforce

Retirement Resilience in FAB: Inclusive Pension Plan Design for a Diverse and Decentralized Workforce

By combining inclusive pension plan design with targeted engagement strategies, FAB organizations can close the retirement readiness gap and build long-term resilience for all employees.

Key Takeaways
  1. Effectively financing retirement on tight margins is entirely possible — even as regulations evolve — and provides a competitive edge for FAB organizations that stay ahead of compliance requirements.
  2. As the FAB workforce becomes more decentralized and diverse, employers must build more targeted and personalized communication strategies.
  3. FAB employees highly value retirement plans. Improving wellbeing will enhance attraction, retention and productivity.

With a more diverse and decentralized workforce in the Food, Agribusiness and Beverage (FAB) industry, supporting retirement readiness is more critical than ever.

A lack of retirement readiness is having a material impact on FAB employees. In a recent global survey, 39% of FAB workers told Aon that they expect more financial support and guidance from their employers. With 42% also saying that employers should help employees save for retirement or long-term needs, it’s clear that FAB organizations have a strong opportunity to grow a more satisfied and financially prepared workforce.1

To power their operations, many FAB organizations rely on diverse, global workforces. Creating retirement plans to fit this wide range of employee roles, locations and employment structures can be a complex challenge. However, it’s a challenge that can be overcome and transformed into an opportunity. When creating a clearly communicated, personalized retirement strategy, there are three clear areas to focus on:

  1. Inclusive plan design
  2. Targeted engagement
  3. Alignment with employee expectations

Helping employees plan for retirement needs to be looked at as more than offering a retirement plan as a single benefit. Retirement resilience goes beyond retirement readiness—it’s about fostering financial wellbeing and planning throughout an employee’s career. This approach enables employees to retire at a time that suits both them and their organization, easing workforce management and operational challenges that arise when employees feel unable to retire. With that in mind, retirement resilience must become an operational and financial priority.

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The FAB industry’s future is inextricably linked with the quality of its workforce. Effective retirement plans will help both employers and employees flourish.

Susan Doering
Global Food, Agribusiness and Beverage Leader, Enterprise Client Group

Financing Retirement on Tight Margins

At a time when FAB organizations are feeling cost pressures, the perceived financial implications of retirement plans are often seen as a stumbling block. Data shows that a one-year delay in retirement age can cost employers 1-1.5% of their total workforce costs.2 In an aging workforce, roles that are more prone to physical accidents, such as in factory meat processing, are of particular concern.

Collective Defined Contributions (CDCs) are one promising innovation developing in the UK. While currently only available to single employers, new regulations will allow multi-employer CDC schemes to launch in July 2026.3 These schemes take complex decisions away from employees and provide a lifetime pension for a fixed company contribution as a percentage of pay. The unusual feature is that CDC pensions are designed to be inflation-linked each year but can be reduced in extreme downturns.

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CDCs aren’t about asking employers to spend more money. We believe that for the same cost, they can get better outcomes than they would otherwise.

Michael Clare
Head of Wealth Solutions, Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Along with an income for life, CDCs also lead to 30% higher average retirement outcomes than defined contributions used to purchase an annuity on retirement.4 The result is a solution that suits both employees and employers, with lower total costs. Whether through single trusts or industry-wide schemes, Aon has experience integrating CDC designs with the right balance between employer, employee and retiree objectives.

Employer-only contributions are also helpful for FAB employees, with emergency fund models ensuring immediate financial stability. In the UK, many organizations are following this model to maintain employee wellbeing as well as improve workforce productivity.

The backdrop to financing retirement on tight margins is the developing regulatory environment. In the EU, pay transparency regulation5 has brought employer pensions into the spotlight, while U.S. pension legislation is evolving with the introduction of Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts6 and new SECURE 2.0 provisions.7 Keeping on top of financing retirement plans and outcomes despite cost pressures also keeps FAB organizations focused on regulatory compliance.

Reaching a Diverse and Decentralized Workforce

Today, FAB organizations employ a wider variety of roles across multiple locations. While this may pose challenges in the short term — such as the gender savings gap, an aging workforce and an international workforce — the long-term opportunities are numerous.

Engaging Younger Generations

Encouraging younger generations to think about their retirement planning earlier and strengthening communications strategies are key. This includes providing additional resources to support enrollment and contributions, as well as more targeted engagement strategies. Employees increasingly expect more personalization in their roles, and this must be brought into employer-employee communications. To lower the discomfort many employees feel about money discussions and financial education classes, behavior-based, personal programs will help younger workers understand their own money mindset on a more personal level.

Communicating Across a Global Workforce

The FAB industry pipeline now spans international borders, encompassing diverse languages, workplace structures and cultural backgrounds. As such, the delivery of engagement strategies must be personalized to resonate with different cohorts across borders, especially when so many generations work together. Catering to diverse learning styles is critical to engagement. Short podcasts or audio grabs are popular for those who want brief versions of content, whereas seminars and workshops remain favored by in-office workers. Many are also keen on personalized coaching rather than group-style education. In short, more localized, inclusive plans can help engage employees across locations and job functions.

The Gender Retirement Gap

Effective retirement plans should also address the retirement pay gap between men and women. Women live longer than men, and plan designs often favor more traditional career paths. On average, women over the age of 65 receive around 74% of the retirement income of men across both public and private employers globally.8 Despite these numbers, only 21% of defined contribution pension schemes consider the gender pensions gap when planning their pensions communications.9

Closing the gender savings gap goes hand-in-hand with addressing pay transparency regulations. It will also strengthen retention strategies. Integrating an inclusive benefits dashboard, which reviews retirement program design through the lens of gender, is one action employers can take. Better education, more targeted communications and retirement plans that are more affordable, accessible and flexible will be crucial to building a more supportive retirement system for all employees.

 

Crucially, all engagement strategies must provide clear communication, free of jargon, that helps employees easily access and understand their retirement savings. For instance, many organizations now use projection tools to help employees gather a clearer understanding of retirement planning. The result will be better retirement decisions for all involved.

40%

of FAB employees picked 1-on-1 meetings as their preferred mode of communication with employers.

Source: 2025 Employee Sentiment Survey (FAB Industry Analysis), Aon.

Learn More

Meeting Employee Expectations and Improving Wellbeing

Clear retirement planning is no longer optional — it’s an expectation across today’s multigenerational workforce. In fact, retirement savings ranks fourth among the top five most valued benefits for all generations in the FAB industry.10 With employees ready to embrace retirement saving programs, organizations have a clear opportunity to strengthen their strategies and gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining talent.

That said, retirement planning doesn’t always get the attention it deserves at the executive level. With employee expectations evolving and cost pressures making retirement benefits feel less of a priority, organizations could unintentionally create gaps that impact engagement and competitiveness in today’s tough talent market.

There are financial implications to ignoring the issue, too — financially stressed employees lead to an average of 8.1 hours of lost productivity per employee per week.11 Industry leaders must meet rising employee demand for retirement planning with inclusive plan designs and targeted engagement strategies to enhance attraction and retention across the pipeline.

49%

of employees say their employers should provide them with financial tools, such as budget calculators.

Source: 2025 Employee Sentiment Survey (FAB Industry Analysis), Aon.

Learn More
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In the U. S., chief financial officers are in a financially difficult position to address retirement income adequacy with pension plans, especially from a volatility perspective.

John Hanson
Senior Partner, National Client Growth and Expansion Leader, Wealth Solutions, North America

Better financial wellbeing has a direct impact on employee productivity. Through strategic wellbeing programs and retirement security, FAB organizations can confront this issue and reduce the risk. This can also mitigate other issues later down the road, including mental health claims. Many organizations are already realigning their retirement strategies with this in mind, with around a third of companies planning to bolster financial wellbeing programs between 2024 and 2026.12

Inclusive, personalized financial education — which helps employees understand day-to-day financial management and build emergency funds — can meet the rising expectations of younger generations. Tools such as retirement calculators and access to financial advisors are particularly helpful. With just 51% of those who value retirement and financial wellbeing receiving these benefits, there’s a clear opportunity to close the gap.13

FAB organizations should ensure employees have the option to make catch-up contributions near retirement age, while providing connections to retirement experts. Introducing auto-enrollment will also help employees start saving earlier in their careers, recognizing that in some places this may already be the norm due to local requirements. Not only will a retirement plan strategy, defined contribution plans and other direct actions better prepare workers for the future, but they will also improve employee wellbeing in the present.14

37%

of FAB employees report they “have just enough [money] to get by.

Source: 2025 Employee Sentiment Survey (FAB Industry Analysis), Aon.

Learn More

Investing in Retirement Resilience is Investing in Business Resilience

It's important for HR and business leaders to keep in mind, and increasingly be able to track and measure, the knock-on effects of retirement resilience. Not only can it improve employee satisfaction, when employees feel more financially secure and have a clear path for retirement, it can lead to higher productivity and performance, lower medical claims and better succession planning.

Given the FAB sector's complex and geographically dispersed workforce, retirement planning needs to be flexible in design with a tailored communication strategy.

Learn how Aon can help your organization with retirement strategies and financial wellbeing. Contact us to start a conversation.

Aon’s Thought Leaders
  • Susan Doering
    Global Food, Agribusiness and Beverage Leader, Enterprise Client Group
  • Michael Clare
    Head of Wealth Solutions, Europe, the Middle East and Africa
  • Paul Gordon
    Chief Commercial Officer, Global Financial Wellbeing
  • John Hanson
    Senior Partner, National Client Growth and Expansion Leader, Wealth Solutions, North America
  • Ciara Jackson
    Executive Client Leader

1 2025 Employee Sentiment Survey (FAB Industry Analysis), Aon.
2 Why Employers Should Care About the Cost of Delayed Retirements, Prudential.
3 Pensions: Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes, UK Parliament.
4 Collective Defined Contribution (CDC), Aon.
5 Pay transparency in the EU, The European Council.
6 FAQs: Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts, U.S. Department of Labor.
7 Treasury, IRS issue final regulations on new Roth catch-up rule, other SECURE 2.0 Act provisions, IRS.
8 Towards Improved Retirement Savings Outcomes for Women, OECD
9 2024 DC Pension Scheme Survey, Aon
10 2025 Employee Sentiment Survey (FAB Industry Analysis), Aon.
11 Ibid., Aon.
12 2024 DC Pension Scheme Survey, Aon.
13 Employee Sentiment Study 2025, Aon.
14 Pensions and Retirement, Aon.

General Disclaimer

This document is not intended to address any specific situation or to provide legal, regulatory, financial, or other advice. While care has been taken in the production of this document, Aon does not warrant, represent or guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, completeness or fitness for any purpose of the document or any part of it and can accept no liability for any loss incurred in any way by any person who may rely on it. Any recipient shall be responsible for the use to which it puts this document. This document has been compiled using information available to us up to its date of publication and is subject to any qualifications made in the document.

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