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Education/Advice
Where Do you Go for Financial Advice?
People often do not use professional advisers, such as life insurers, for information and advice on retirement investments. They are more likely to ask independent financial advisers (51%) and friends and family (44%) for advice on the best retirement options than to rely on insurers (41%) and banks (39%). The majority (86%) say they have limited or no knowledge of retirement products offered by life insurers. Almost half (45%) say they have never received simple, comprehensible retirement planning information from any life insurer, and one-fifth (20%) state they have never been contacted by any life insurer to discuss retirement issues. "[Life insurers] need to do a better job of educating and relating to their current and potential customers and seeking new interactive ways to provide them with the advice people ultimately need: how to arrange their finances to make these products affordable,” said Halverson. “They will have to create simple, cost-effective retirement products—ideally, with the ability for customers to switch products if their circumstances change or they find they have chosen the wrong one." Eighty-six percent say they would purchase a retirement product from a provider that offers them clear comparisons of several investment options, highlighting the pros and cons, while 82% want a clear understanding of what their financial needs would be after retirement and a clear illustration of projected financial value of each investment option.
People often do not use professional advisers, such as life insurers, for information and advice on retirement investments. They are more likely to ask independent financial advisers (51%) and friends and family (44%) for advice on the best retirement options than to rely on insurers (41%) and banks (39%).
The majority (86%) say they have limited or no knowledge of retirement products offered by life insurers.
Almost half (45%) say they have never received simple, comprehensible retirement planning information from any life insurer, and one-fifth (20%) state they have never been contacted by any life insurer to discuss retirement issues.
"[Life insurers] need to do a better job of educating and relating to their current and potential customers and seeking new interactive ways to provide them with the advice people ultimately need: how to arrange their finances to make these products affordable,” said Halverson. “They will have to create simple, cost-effective retirement products—ideally, with the ability for customers to switch products if their circumstances change or they find they have chosen the wrong one."
Eighty-six percent say they would purchase a retirement product from a provider that offers them clear comparisons of several investment options, highlighting the pros and cons, while 82% want a clear understanding of what their financial needs would be after retirement and a clear illustration of projected financial value of each investment option.