Retirement planning

Taking advantage of opportunities will enable life insurers to play catch-up to the success mutual fund companies are enjoying, says LIMRA/LOMA CEO.

In addition, 55% don’t know how much they will need to retire.

As Boomers start moving into retirement, a huge pool of money is “in motion,” reports a study by Pershing LLC, and those financial advisors who manage to “capture the retirement relationship” with investment clients stand to gain 50% more of those clients’ wallets.

Four in 10 working Americans say they will never be able to afford to retire, a Harris Interactive survey of 1,005 adults for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants found.

AXA Equitable has launched two new “virtual consultation” calculators accompanied with videos of licensed and experienced financial consultants to help individuals determine how much life insurance they may need and how long their retirement savings will last.

Investors under the age of 46 (“Gen X/Y”) have become more optimistic about investing, but those ages 46 to 64 (“Boomers”) are holding back, according to the latest MFS Investing Sentiment Survey.

Whether it's a case of the comparatively small number of "haves" simply socking away a lot more money or a jump in smaller contributions by a larger group of middle class investors, Americans' total retirement investment assets surged to more than $17.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 9.1% for the year.

And 57% plan to continue working, an Insured Retirement Institute survey finds.

Thirty-three percent of Boomers are worried they won’t have enough money saved for retirement, 34% do not know the age at which they will retire, and 57% plan to continue working, according to the findings of a survey by the Insured Retirement Institute.

Generation X and Y are warming up to investing more than any other age group, according to a survey by MFS Investments. But they remain largely reticent investors.

And 50% of workers are not sure they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, EBRI survey funds.

Forget retiring to a tony townhouse or a beach property in a warm climate. Clients are more concerned about having enough money for daily necessities, according to financial advisers polled by Sun Life Financial recently.A whopping 92% of advisers who responded to the Sun Life Financial study said their clients change their retirement income plans after retirement mainly to avoid running out of money, or to meet non-discretionary costs. More than one third, 34%, said clients adjust their plans to cover essentials, like unexpected healthcare costs. Just 21% said clients adjust plans to have more money for discretionary spending. Sun Life polled 477 financial advisers in March for the study.

T. Rowe Price suggests many boomers planning early retirement would be better off working through their 60s and saving less.

Forget satisfying lifestyle choices: Many investors will have to adjust their retirement expectations just to secure the necessities, according to a study by Sun Life.

“These customers are seeing their parents struggle,” an executive at Fidelity said. “I think that is making it poignant for them; they need to have a bigger focus on savings.”

The stunning decline in property values across most of the country, a prolonged recession and plain-old negligence and shortsightedness on the part of American workers have all combined to make retirement more a fantasy than a reality for tens of millions of Baby Boomers who are will soon turn 65 years of age.

Corporate pension plans have about $2 trillion in assets, and $200 billion to $400 billion could be in play in the next several years.

The stunning decline in property values across most of the country, a prolonged recession and plain-old negligence and shortsightedness on the part of American workers have all combined to make retirement more a fantasy than a reality for tens of millions of Baby Boomers who are will soon turn 65 years of age.

Despite the warnings from financial planners, relatives and the media, nearly two-thirds of Baby Boomers surveyed said Social Security will be either an "extremely" or "very" important source of income when they retire.

Despite the warnings from financial planners, relatives and the media, nearly two-thirds of Baby Boomers surveyed said social security will be either an "extremely" or "very" important source of income when they retire.