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October 31, 2017 at 03:56 AM
As the burden of retirement continues to shift from the employer to the employee, the 10,000 U.S. baby boomers retiring each day are actively seeking products that they can use for financial stability and, specifically, products that give them a combination of principal protection, lifetime income, and a solid rate of return.
New survey results show that a majority of Americans are at-risk of an unstable retirement. According to a new study from my group, the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (IALC), only 9% are focused on diversifying their portfolio, which is essential to managing financial risk heading into retirement.
Achieving balance can be an uphill battle when basic knowledge is still a gap. The IALC study found that 22% of Americans are not familiar with the most routinely used retirement products that would allow them to diversify their portfolio, such as mutual funds, CDs, and fixed indexed annuities (FIAs).
(Related: What Americans Will Miss Most When They Retire)
This is especially troubling for retirees who have their financial eggs in one basket, if they have any savings at all. The median retirement savings of families between ages 56 and 61 is $17,000 according to a report by Economic Policy Institute.
Adding to that lack of knowledge is the myths around FIAs, as it’s difficult to distinguish between what’s myth and what’s fact.
In order to close this knowledge gap and increase financial diversity, let’s break down a few annuity confusion points that might still be out there:
