In this job, I am constantly bombarded with "scary retirement statistics."
In fact, LifeHealthPro.com's Kristen Beckman recently wrote a lengthy — and quite frightening — piece on the basic fact that Americans are far from financially prepared for life after work.
See also: 18 scary retirement statistics
The epidemic is getting attention in consumer-facing media outlets as well. USA Today, using information from a recent PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) survey, published a call-to-action piece that stated baby boomers have less than $100,000 in savings. And Forbes followed with a report — based on recent findings by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies — noting women are far behind men when it comes to retirement planning: "Men most frequently cite saving for retirement as their greatest financial priority right now. For women, the top financial priority is 'just getting by — covering basic living expenses.'"
The "17th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey" also found:
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- Retirement confidence has recovered but plateaued. Retirement confidence has recovered in step with the economic recovery from the Great Recession and its aftereffects. Sixty-two percent of workers are confident they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle, including 15 percent who are "very confident" and 47 percent who are "somewhat confident."
- Many workers are still recovering from the Great Recession. Many workers say they have not yet fully recovered from the Great Recession, with 41 percent saying they have "somewhat" recovered, 13 percent saying they have not yet begun to recover, and seven percent saying they may never recover from the recession.
- Retirement dreams include leisure and work. Workers most frequently cite traveling (65 percent), spending more time with family and friends (56 percent), and pursuing hobbies (49 percent) as retirement dreams. Interestingly, 28 percent of workers dream of doing some form of work in retirement.
- Retirement fears range from financial to health. Workers' most frequently cited retirement fear is "outliving my savings/investments" (51 percent), followed closely by "Social Security will be reduced or cease to exist in the future" (47 percent) and "declining health that requires long-term care" (45 percent).
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Finally, negative and positive reports about retirement readiness will undoubtedly always include the number one fear Americans have regarding retirement: running out of money. That's where you come in.
Here's to a 2017 that's filled with client education, advisor appreciation and business generation. I welcome your comments at [email protected].
