Still reeling from the economic turmoil of the past three years, many pre-retirees are pessimistic about their financial future, including when they will be able to retire.
A study from The Hartford Financial Services Group has found that many pre-retirees have “no idea” when they will be able to retire (28.3% for ages 60-69 and 33.3% for those age 70 and older) and 36% of those ages 60-69 say they are postponing retirement for up to two years or more. Nearly nine in 10 people in their 60s expressed concerns about having enough money in retirement, with more than half (55.4%) planning to work longer and put off retirement or work part time during retirement. Nearly half of those 70 years and older (44.4%) said the same. About 17.4% of those between 60 and 69 years old, and 33.3% of those 70 years and older, say they never plan to retire.
Many of the respondents indicated that the market and economic dislocation has caused them to reduce their standard of living or reduce expenses (63.1% for ages 60 to 69 and 66.6% for those 70 years and older). Roughly 75% of people in their 60s said their top financial priority is to keep up with daily expenses. When it comes to what they perceive to be their greatest risk during retirement, 33.7% of those in the 60s cited a significant health event, while 26.1% said it was outliving their money. People age 70 and older said outliving their money was their biggest concern, followed by losing their buying power to inflation (22.3%) and losing money in the financial markets (22.1%).
“The economic turmoil of the past few years has taken a major toll on the retirement dreams of those aged 60 and older, especially those in their 60s,” E. Thomas Foster Jr., vice president and national spokesperson for The Hartford’s Retirement Plans Group, said in a statement. “The financial services industry – financial advisors in particular – need to reach out to their mature clients to help them get back on track.”
