Financial professionals have their work cut out for them these days. There are more and more people in need of financial services, but many have anxiety about the state of their retirement savings and are not aware of potential solutions to help them catch up. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) conducted a survey recently called the Chasing Retirement Study, composed of Americans age 45-65 actively saving for retirement. Of 1,109 respondents, 49% were labeled “Chasers” due to their need to catch up on their retirement savings. They have either fallen behind on where they should be, wish they could accumulate savings faster, or worry that if they don’t increase savings soon it will be too late to have a comfortable retirement.[1]The key findings of the survey are that 85% of the Chasers worry that if they don’t start saving more soon, it will be too late for them to retire comfortably. More than half of the Chasers feel they have too many expenses right now to save for retirement. Additionally, 84% of Chasers are interested in financial products that offer growth potential with some protection from loss. The mean retirement portfolio of Chasers in this study was $400,000. However, Chasers find it challenging to keep up with their retirement goals and worry they will run out of money in retirement.
In addition, Chasers own fewer financial products than confident savers do. Only 53% have an individual retirement account (IRA), and even fewer own individual stocks (35%) or mutual funds (35%), have a pension (37%), or own an annuity (14%). In contrast, 70% of confident savers have an IRA, 56% own individual stocks, 51% own mutual funds, 53% have a pension, and twice as many own an annuity (28%).[2] Chasers could benefit from education and potential solutions that financial products could offer.
If the study is a true sample of the feelings individuals have about their retirement, then they may need the advice of a financial professional now more than ever. The right mix of financial products could help a Chaser take on more risk, in order to accumulate faster, while still having protection in their portfolio. Consider how you could market to open a dialogue with these individuals to offer a plan for getting them back on track. We can help you get your message across. Contact your Ann Arbor Annuity Exchange marketer for tools and resources on this topic. 800.321.3924
Dina Mestel | Sales Trainer
Ann Arbor Annuity Exchange
Ph: 800.321.3924 x119 | Dir: 734.786.6119
dmestel@annuity-exchange.com
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[1] Allianz Life. “Allianz Life’s Chasing Retirement Study Finds Half of Retirement Savers Are “Chasers” Who Are Behind on Savings Goals.” 31 Jul 2018. Web. Accessed on 17 Aug 2018 at https://www.allianzlife.com/about/news-and-events/news-releases/Allianz-Life-Chasing-Retirement-Study
[2] See note 1
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