Boomers Desire Guarantees More than High Returns

When asked which is more attractive, a financial product providing 4% return that is guaranteed not to lose value or one with 8% return that is subject to market risk and loss of principal, 76% of respondents chose the guaranteed product, nearly identical to the 80% of respondents who did so in 2010.  

Pessimism about retirement preparedness remains unchanged. More than a third (35%) of respondents in both 2010 and 2011 said that, financially speaking, they feel totally unprepared for retirement – and a nearly equal number in each year (37% in 2010, 38% in 2011) said they have no idea if their income will last throughout their lifetime. According to a press release, in both years, fully half of respondents noted that they are extremely concerned about possibly outliving their income.  

One factor that has changed, however, is boomers’ expected age of retirement. Many now say they’ll need to retire later than they previously thought. In 2010, the average age of expected retirement was 63, but only one year later that average age jumped to 66.5.    

While the percentage of boomers currently working with financial professionals remained nearly flat (26% in 2010, 27% in 2011), those who said they are now receptive to working with one increased (29% in 2010, 32% in 2011), and those who said they were not receptive decreased (25% in 2010, 21% in 2011). In terms of what type of guidance they want from their financial professional, boomers were increasingly looking to “create more safety and guarantees in my nest egg” (25% in 2010, 31% in 2011) and “understand the big picture for me financially” (29% in 2010, 37% in 2011).  

When asked to describe their retirement goals, 81% said one of their most important goals is having a stable, predictable standard of living throughout retirement.