Do ESPPs Bolster Retirement Security?

In ESPPs Can Help Insulate Retirement Savings, Sara Kelly of Plan Sponsor magazine argues that, although employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) are not retirement plans, they can help protect employees' retirement savings. Dave Gray at Charles Schwab notes that although equity compensation and retirement plans are often in separate organizational silos, their messaging and planning should reflect the current trend toward integration. Emily Cervino of Fidelity agrees that ESPPs are by no means retirement plans, but that they can still be "an effective way that companies can help their employees insulate their retirement savings." A study by Fidelity found that employee behavior often supports that insulation: 57% of ESPP participants in the survey plan to use their ESPP assets for retirement or later investment rather than current expenses.