Sun Life's Unretirement Index: Friends & Family Trump Advisors

"We understand why people would turn to family and friends for advice on important financial decisions, but financial advisors should be alarmed at these findings," says Wes Thompson, president of Sun Life Financial U.S.

"Between the current economy and the flood of Boomers approaching retirement, this is an unprecedented opportunity for advisors to showcase their skills in ensuring younger Americans are correctly planning and investing for their future, and to make sure those about to retire have a proper retirement income plan in place to sustain them during their later years," Thompson explains. "Simultaneously, they will need to start transitioning their expertise from accumulation-centric strategies to retirement income strategies."

The Unretirement Index also found dramatic differences between where younger workers and those closer to traditional retirement age turn for advice. Sixty-four percent of workers between the ages of eighteen and twenty nine looked to family members for advice while less than 20 percent sought the help of a financial advisor. Conversely, workers in their sixties were more likely to seek guidance from a financial adviser (45 percent) than a family member (33 percent).

More information on this question and the Unretirement Index can be found online.

Unretirement is defined as working at least 20 hours per week after the age when one is eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Sun Life Financial created this Index to learn more about the reasons why Americans are choosing to "unretire," or continue to work full- or part-time after the age of traditional retirement.

This edition of the study was conducted from August 14 – September 14, 2009; interviews included a sample of 1,451 people working either full- or part-time, which was representative of the U.S. working population between the ages of 18 and 66.