| Interesting Boomer Stats |
| Monday, 31 January 2011 22:39 | |||
 New York, New York, February 2011 — On the last day of January, Bank of America released its latest Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly, a survey examining the values, financial priorities and concerns of affluent Americans. This latest in a series looks at a range of opportunities and concerns associated with retirement – a stage of life that is being redefined by recent retirees and those preparing for it in the years ahead. The survey also offers lessons learned and advice from retirees, reveals gender differences in retirement aspirations, and examines the important roles that financial advisors and employers play in helping individuals live well longer.
The survey finds that the vast majority (84 percent) of affluent Baby Boomers (age 46 – 64) believe their “retirement” will differ from that of their parents, among which 86 percent intend to live a more active lifestyle and 72 percent believe they will enjoy a higher standard of living during retirement than their parents did. Seventy percent of Boomers reporting plan to keep working, at least part-time, as a means of remaining active and engaged during this stage in life. Other ways in which they look forward to staying active during their retirement years include: • Pursuing additional professional success (32 percent) • Continuing their education (26 percent) • Learning a new trade (24 percent) • Starting or furthering their own business (20 percent) “People today are living longer, healthier lives, and are able to enjoy not just years but decades more time with family and friends,” said Sallie Krawcheck, president of Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management. “This presents new opportunities as well as challenges. We are committed to helping our clients attain the lifestyles they aspire to and leave the legacy they hoped for by offering personalized advice and financial solutions to help put them on the right path early on and keep them on track throughout their lifetime.” Nearly half (48 percent) of retirees, when looking back, found that having a clear vision for how they want to live during their retirement years, as well as knowing how to manage retirement income to ensure it lasts throughout their lifetime (52 percent), was more important than they had originally expected. Other lessons learned and advice shared by affluent retirees in this survey includes: Seventy-eight percent recommend that individuals should begin to plan financially for the life they want to live in retirement no later than in their 30s, and 57 percent recommend starting this planning process in their 20s. Twenty-seven percent of affluent retirees did not retire at the age they had planned to when they were in their 40s, citing a variety of factors, including: o The recession took a toll on my finances (34 percent) o Changed my mind and decided to continue working (23 percent) o Had to provide more financial support to my adult age children than anticipated (23 percent) o Didn’t realize how much I would need to save for retirement (21 percent) o Started saving too late or didn’t save enough (18 percent) o Had to deal with a medical emergency (14 percent) When retirees were asked their number one piece of long-term saving and investing advice they would give to their 30-year-old self, 34 percent recommended working with a financial advisor or working with one earlier in life. Other advice included taking a more hands-on approach to their investment portfolio such as monitoring asset allocation and making adjustments based on life stage (27 percent), factoring long-term expenses such as college tuition, health care and caring for aging parents into their financial strategy (19 percent), and better managing debt (14 percent). “As people live longer, more active lives, their need or desire to keep working will transform the workplace in positive ways, and the skills and experience of this aging workforce will aid in the ability of the U.S. to compete globally,” added Sieg. “This transformation will require an investment in human capital that expands the traditional parameters and flexibility in how employers help workers prepare for later life. To this end, we are helping employers deliver the benefits, financial education programs and services that employees at every life stage and at every level of their organization are seeking.” Braun Research conducted the Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly survey by phone between December 8, 2010 and January 1, 2011, on behalf of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. Braun contacted a nationally representative sample of 1,000 affluent Americans with investable assets in excess of $250,000, and oversampled 300 affluent Americans in each of 15 target markets including Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; Los Angeles; Houston; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Miami; Minnesota-St. Paul; Orange County, Calif. (Irvine, Laguna Hills and Newport Beach); San Diego; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. The margin of error is +/- 3.1% for the national sample and +/-5.7% for the oversample markets, with both reported at a 95% confidence level. SOURCE: PressPass BusinessWire
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