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The vast majority of consumers who find a financial task difficult don't seek help, as seen in a new report from Hearts & Wallets.
According to the report, that creates large advice gaps for tasks like planning for retirement, choosing investments and managing the finances of loved ones as they age.
The report reveals the most pressing pain points that face different groups of consumers. The report specifically looks at retirees, pre-retirees within five years of retirement and "accumulators," or consumers still focused on working and saving.
"Choosing appropriate investments" is a top pain point for all consumers, including 57% of accumulators, 43% of pre-retirees and nearly a quarter (24%) of retirees.
The report asked slightly different questions for each consumer group, based on their being retired, getting ready to retire or still in the working phase of life.
For retirees, one of the top pain points was determining appropriate levels and types of health insurance, where 26% said they had a difficulty of 6 to 10 on 10-point scale. The other top pain point for retirees was estimating or budgeting spending in retirement (26%).
For pre-retirees, determining the appropriate health insurance was also a top concern. About 44% said they had a difficulty of 6 to 10 on 10-point scale with this task. Estimating spending in retirement was also a top pain point for pre-retirees with 43% saying so.
