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Some retired Americans run websites, use agentic AI to manage their household appliances and have even figured out how to set the clocks on their microwave ovens.
But a team at the Society of Actuaries — a group for people who know how the math inside life insurance policies, annuity contracts and pension plans — has worked with a team at Deloitte Consulting to conduct an exhaustive survey focusing on retirement risk in the United States.
One thing the team found is that the idea that all Americans over 45 are posting regularly on Facebook and using Google to answer major life questions is exaggerated.
The percentage of the retirees in the sample who said they used a specified technology once per month or less frequently was 41% for web searches, 51% for email and 75% for social media services, and 40% said they never actually use email or do not think they have access to that technology.
About 77% of the retirees said they never use virtual meeting systems or don't think they have access to that technology.
What it means: Advisors who are trying to work with retired clients mainly online may be overlooking the many Americans in the 45-80 age group who are not really comfortable online.
The survey: The SOA survey sample included responses from 2,012 Americans ages 45 to 80, with 1,007 classified as pre-retirees and 1,005 as retirees.
The topics covered ranged from caregiving expectations to actual and expected sources of retirement income.
Daily use: About 39% of the pre-retirees who participated in the SOA survey use email every day, 40% conduct web searches every day, and 29% use Facebook or some other social media service every day.
The percentage of the retirees saying they used a specified technology tool every day was 30% for email, 28% for web searches and 18% for social media.
Just 23% of retirees use social media at least once a week.
Virtual meetings: Only 21% of pre-retirees and 2% of retirees said they use virtual meeting systems more than once a month.
Credit: Stockphotodirectors/Adobe Stock
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