Baby boomers are becoming less confident in their retirement planning in recent years, according to a study released Monday that kicks off National Retirement Planning Week.
The study, by the Insured Retirement Institute and the National Retirement Coalition, shows baby boomers’ confidence in their retirement planning has slipped from 44 percent when the study was first conducted four years ago to 35 percent today.
Likewise the number of boomers who are confident they will have enough money to retire comfortably has dropped from 37 percent in 2011 to 33 percent this year, according to Boomer Expectations for Retirement 2014: Fourth Annual Report on Retirement Preparedness of the Boomer Generation.
At the same time, those with low or no confidence in their planning for retirement rose to 31 percent this year from 23 percent four years ago.
During this past year, one quarter of boomers who were not retired postponed their retirement, the highest number since the study was started.
However, the study also shows boomers who work with a financial advisor are more confident of their planning and are more likely to have retirement savings, the study says.
“This is a striking call for action,” Nevin Adams, of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, said during a press briefing announcing the study results. “Those who have a financial advisor set higher goals for themselves and are more confident about hitting their goals. More than half of workers have never figured out what they need for retirement savings.”
“The advisor-client relationship is important for retirement planning,” agreed Scott Romine, executive vice president and national sales manager for Jackson National Life Distributors LLC. “Men and women alike want more understanding of finances. There is a lot of information out there, but it can be overwhelming.”
Women in particular are underserved by financial advisors, said Katie Libbe, vice president consumer insights, Allianz Life. What the industry can do to make presentations more relatable to women is to make them shorter, use case studies of women in similar situations to the potential clients and be sure to leave time for questions, Libby said.