Consumer confidence

• 65%: Percentage of insurance industry professionals who believe investor confidence is either flat or falling.
• 99%: Percentage who believe most retirement-minded Americans will address the financial crisis by moving money into “safer” investments, becoming more risk adverse, avoiding equity based financial products, and even “stash[ing] their savings under their mattresses”.
• 68%: Percentage who believe variable annuity “living benefits” will become more popular with consumers
• 50%: Percentage of insurance industry professionals who believe the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) will help stabilize the financial markets.
• 77%: Percentage of respondents who will “stay the course” in their retirement strategy.
• 35%: Percentage of respondents who think consumer confidence will rise over the next 12 months. Forty-one percent think it will fall.

Source: NAVA