Almost half of Americans not confident in their retirement plans
The upward trend in life expectancy has been evident for many years and yet still millions of Americans do little to plan for the large chunk of their lives that will live in retirement.
A new survey from Western & Southern Financial Group is the latest to highlight a lack of professional planning – and therefore confidence – in retirement plans with inflation having added a new layer of concern.
For pre-retirees, their greatest fears are running out of money (70%), healthcare costs (57%), inflation (54%) and Social Security cuts (49%) while those already retired rank Social Security cuts as the largest concern (61%), followed by inflation (60%), running out of money (54%), and healthcare costs (46%).
Six in ten across all age groups do not have a financial professional, although a third are looking for one.
This should perhaps be higher on the agenda given that almost half of poll participants are only slightly or not at all confident in being able to manage their own investments throughout retirement. Women and those with low incomes are less confident in this regard.
“Sustaining one’s desired retirement lifestyle requires a balancing act,” said Jill McGruder,” SVP and chief marketing officer of Western & Southern. “On one hand, it calls for producing ongoing income for ongoing expenses, both expected as well as unplanned. On the other hand, it demands protecting asset values from risks such as inflation, market volatility, increased healthcare spending and extended lifespan.”
The report reveals that more than 50% of those with a formal, written retirement plan are very or extremely confident in having enough retirement income.
However, just 41% of pre-retirees say they are knowledgeable about what retirement planning
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