Men and women appear to have different values when it comes to the loyalty they show to their employers, according to a new  survey.

The results of the latest Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights quarterly survey found that, overall, 60% of employees cited retirement benefits as an important loyalty factor that was second only to compensation and promotions.

When broken down by gender, however, there were differing viewpoints. After pay and promotions, females said they were most likely to stay loyal when they are enjoying what they are doing (68%), while men said they were most loyal to a company that offers good retirement benefits (65%).

The study also found that there is a lack of financial support for employees and, as a result, 45% of affluent employees expect to end up working longer than planned, compared to 29% in January.

Seventy percent of affluent employees don't think their retirement plan thoroughly takes into account the potential for unexpected events, and more than one third (35%) indicate having to shift financial priorities due to those unexpected events at some point during their adult life, according to the survey.

Reflecting a desire for more financial planning help, 26% of employees believed that more could be done to provide them with financial piece of mind. Employees said they were worried about maintaining their family's standard of living (42%), health care costs (40%) and saving for retirement (37%).

-Danielle Zarcaro