Investors who don’t know how much they have saved for retirement are less likely to arrive in those proverbial golden years with optimal financial results. But some two and half times more do-it-yourself investors than investors who hire advisors find themselves in that unenviable position, a new study on retirement readiness from Dalbar found.
In fact, some 17.9% of investors who decided to go it alone are in the dark about how much they’ve accumulated for retirement. In contrast, 7.4% of investors who work with an advisor did not know what their retirement balance is, according to the study, “Got a Plan: A Study on Advisor Value from the Lens of Retirement.”
“What you don’t know will hurt you,” Dalbar said in the study, which surveyed over 1,000 investors in September to find out how much they know about three key factors in their retirement plan:
• How much do I currently have saved for retirement;
• How much will I need at retirement?
• What are my chances of having what I need?
DIY investors were three times more likely to not have an estimate of what they will have saved at retirement. Some 30% of investors without an advisor did not have an estimate of the nest egg they need to accumulate to create a financially satisfying retirement. Just 10% of investors with advisors found themselves in the same boat, Dalbar found.
As alarming, some 70% of DIY investors reported they do not have a financial plan for retirement at all, in contrast to 25% of investors with advisors who said they don’t have a plan.
Investors with an advisor were significantly more satisfied with the amount they have saved for retirement. More than 66% of investors with an advisor were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the amount they will have saved at retirement. Just a little over 27% of DIY investors were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied.
At the opposite end of the satisfaction scale, some 47% of DIY investors were somewhat or very disappointed in the amount they will have saved for retirement, while 26% of investors with advisors were somewhat or very disappointed in the amount they’ll have saved—a finding that advisors should not brush away.
“An important takeaway from this study is that investors need to know more than just what they have saved or will have saved at retirement. Investors also need to understand what their goal should be to lead a dignified retirement. This is a question that many Americans are struggling to answer and one that I hope is addressed in the upcoming U.S. Department of Labor guidance.” Cory Clark, Dalbar’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
The DOL is currently in the process of creating lifetime income disclosure requirements that qualified retirement plans will be required to deliver to participants, as mandated by the SECURE Act in 2019.
“The retirement readiness of American workers is an important social issue. October is National Retirement Security Month, so it’s a great time for the industry to speak loudly about the importance of having a plan and prioritizing retirement savings.” Clark added.