FutureSelf Advice

The survey, which was as conducted by Zogby International in October, asked 500 respondents of all income levels to take a trip back in time and think about what advice they would give to their younger selves. More than one in four said they would tell themselves to begin saving for retirement sooner. Furthermore, 18% of those surveyed would counsel themselves to get more financial education, and 12% would instruct themselves to be more aggressive in their investing. These results did not change for respondents in different income brackets. “The results indicate that today’s baby boomers and retirees are focused on doing their best to plan for the complexities of retirement and feel fairly confident about embracing their golden years,” said Duane Bernt, director of the Lincoln Retirement Institute, in a statement. “At Lincoln Financial, the message we most want people to reflect on as a result of this survey is the importance of asking your ‘futureself’ what you really want for your future, and to encourage those heading into retirement to consider working with a financial professional to make their individual goals a reality,” he added.