A survey of nearly 500 financial advisors conducted by Sun Life Financial revealed that many investors had to adjust their retirement income plans after entering retirement—mostly in order to meet necessary expenditures, not to satisfy lifestyle choices.
More than three quarters (77%) of advisors surveyed by the Sun Life Financial Retirement Income Pulse Poll of Financial Advisors said clients needed to adjust their retirement income plans, either to avoid running out of money or to meet non-discretionary costs such as healthcare.
"We continually survey advisors and the general public to make sure we have or finger on the pulse of what's going on," says Steve Deschenes (left), senior vice president of annuities for Sun Life Financial, when asked about the genesis of the survey. "In this way we can ensure we're developing the right products and solutions to meet investor and advisor needs."
The poll explored investor knowledge of variable annuities with a living benefit, which can provide guaranteed lifetime income. The poll reveals a significant gap between investors' desire to generate guaranteed lifetime income, and their understanding of best practices to do so. For example, while the top concern of clients age 50 or older is having enough income to retire on, most advisors say that on average, over half (62%) of investors who could benefit from variable annuities don't actually own them.