Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor

Retirement Planning > Saving for Retirement

Pru: Near-Retirees Confused About Nest Eggs

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Many older U.S. workers are having a hard time getting a grip on their finances.[@@]

Researchers in the retirement division of Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, N.J., have published data supporting that conclusion in a report on a survey of 1,023 full-time U.S. workers ages 55 to 64 that was conducted in late 2004.

Although researchers found that 83% of the survey participants said it is “very important” to generate a “retirement paycheck,” or a steady retirement income, only 20% said they felt well-informed about creating a retirement paycheck and only 20% said they feel very confident about the chances that their income will let them live comfortably throughout retirement

Only 42% of the participants said they have worked with employers or professionals to calculate how much savings they will need in retirement, and only 39% of the participants said they have worked with professional advisors, employers or planning tools to estimate how much monthly income their savings might generate.

Just 7% of the participants said they have a formal written retirement plan.

Prudential executives say they are responding to the gaps in retirement planning knowledge by developing income-projection programs for members of its retirement plans.

Prudential also wants to do a better job of educating older workers about income annuities.

An income annuity is a product that converts savings into the basis for a lifetime income payment stream.

Only 44% of the retirement savings participants said they had heard of income annuities, and only 9% of the participants said they would use income annuities, even though the annuities are the only products that generate an lifetime income stream, Prudential says.


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.