Majority of Investors Haven’t Developed Plan for Retirement

According to research from T. Rowe Price, despite understanding the importance of planning for retirement, 63% of investors have yet to develop a detailed plan for their finances in retirement. Those who have a detailed plan, however, feel significantly more confident about their retirement readiness, with 58% believing they will have enough money for retirement.

Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents who have a retirement plan said that it targets an anticipated monthly budget; 84% cited having a specific monthly withdrawal strategy; and 78% said their plan considers life expectancy and how long their savings might need to last.

Turning to their anticipated finances in retirement, Generation X and Generation Y investors said they expect to receive income from multiple sources, most commonly:

• 401(k)s or other workplace retirement plans—74%;
• IRAs, 65%—and
• Non-retirement accounts (e.g., checking, savings, stocks, bonds, mutual funds)—64%.

In addition, 63% of investors age 50 and under anticipate receiving Social Security.

When asked at what age they expect to retire, the mean age investors gave was 62. When asked how many years they expect to live in retirement, the mean answer was 22 years. 

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of T. Rowe Price from December 1-12, 2011, among 860 adults ages 21-50 who have at least one investment account.