Retirees Worry About Security, Bills: Nationwide

Twelve percent of retirees reported that they are abandoning the 70% to 80% spending rule, ensuring they have that amount of their pre-retirement income per year in retirement, and 11% are casting aside the 4% rule, the amount they withdraw from their retirement portfolio each year when retired.

Retired investors in the survey are also initiating conversations about legacy planning and wealth transfer with their heirs. 

Thirty-two percent of retirees said they are discussing wishes for end of life, such as long-term care expenses and funeral preferences, and 34% are discussing financial details of their estate with heirs.

Guiding Clients Toward Retirement Security

"Advisors are recognizing and acknowledging investors' desire to avoid making the wrong moves in retirement," Morrone said. 

They are helping them protect their savings and plan for income they will not outlive by reinforcing the value of different retirement solutions and products, such as annuities.

Twenty-three percent of advisors surveyed said they are counseling retired clients on how to generate guaranteed income as a way to help them achieve financial security in the post-work years. Twenty-one percent are helping clients prioritize wants vsersus needs, and 16% are advising them on how to supplement income when that becomes a necessity.

Advisors are also working with investors to plan for lingering financial commitments. These include mortgages, which 34% of advisors said their clients plan to continue paying in retirement.

With the "great wealth transfer" underway, advisors are helping retired clients and their heirs prepare. Fifty-nine percent of advisors said their clients are confirming beneficiary designations to prepare their heirs for the transfer and management of wealth. 

Another 54% reported that their clients are reviewing or creating estate planning documents, and 44% said that clients are building financial confidence and knowledge.