Data and Research March 28, 2019

Retirement, College Costs Top of Mind for Middle-Income Americans

Only 33% think they are saving enough for retirement, according to a Primerica survey.

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Only 39% of middle-income Americans are confident they can save for retirement, Primerica learned in a survey. Only 33% think they think they are saving enough for a comfortable retirement. At 37%, saving for retirement is the greatest financial concern for middle-income Americans; for those between the ages of 40 and 54, this jumps to 54%.

Only 10% of middle-income Americans are confident they could pay for their child to go to college. Only 14% are confident they can make student debt payments. Less than one-third, 32%, are confident they could pay for life insurance, and only 37% believe they could pay for an emergency expense.

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Sixty-nine percent worry how they would cope if their family were hit with a major medical expense, and 67% are concerned about how they would cope if the country were to face another Great Recession, like the one experienced in 2008.

Only 25% of middle-income Americans are confident they could teach someone how to save for the short- and long-term and a mere 14% think they could teach someone how to manage a retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Middle-income Americans save a median of $100 a month. Sixty percent of those who save $500 or more a month link their financial situation will improve over the next five years, compared to 47% of those who save less.

Meeting with a financial professional also boosts financial confidence, such as being able to make credit card debts (66% versus 60%), going on a vacation (55% versus 36%), saving for retirement (47% versus 31%), paying for an emergency expense (45% versus 29%), paying for life insurance (41% versus 22%), paying for a child to go to college (18% versus 6%) and making student debt payments (17% versus 12%).

However, 52% of middle-income Americans say they do not have access to a financial professional they feel comfortable with.

Quandrant Strategies conducted the online survey of 1,000 middle-income Americans whose household incomes were between $29,000 and $106,000 for Primarica in February.

Data and Research March 28, 2019

Women More Worried About Retirement Than Men

Nearly one-third fear they will outlive their assets, according to LIMRA-SRI.

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Women feel far more vulnerable to retirement risks than men, according to LIMRA-SRI. Thirty-one percent of women fear they will outlive their assets. Thirty-five percent expect to face significant health care costs in retirement, and 31% think they will incur long-term care costs. The figures for men, respectively, are 25%, 27% and 28%.

LIMRA-SRI has found that 55% of women are more likely to retire early, compared to 51% of men. Given that fact, combined with the fact that women live, on average, five years longer than men but only earn 80 cents for every dollar that men earn, LIMRA-SRI says it is not surprising that women are worried about retirement.

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Working with an adviser to address these and other risks that retirees are likely to face in retirement can lead to greater financial security. However, women are less likely to work with an adviser, and only 15% of them have a formal retirement plan (compared to 22% of men).

LIMRA-SRI says that owning an annuity can increase confidence in retirement. Twenty-five percent of annuity owners are very confident they can achieve their desired lifestyle in retirement, compared to 18% of those who do not own an annuity.

These findings are outlined in a new column posted on LIMRA’s Industry Trends—National Women’s History Month: Women Feel More Vulnerable to Retirement Risks.

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