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June 04, 2018 at 01:58 PM
(Photo: Shutterstock)
Thirty-five percent of Americans in a new survey said they were comfortable with current market conditions, up from 26% who said this in 2015, Allianz Life reported Monday.
At the same time, 37% of respondents said recent volatility was causing them to worry about their retirement savings. Thirty-eight percent said if a severe market decline that caused them to lose a lot of money should occur, they would not have time before retirement to rebuild their nest egg.
The survey found that a desire for protection from these concerns has increased since the 2015 study. Asked about their retirement planning, 57% of respondents said they were willing to give up some potential gains for a product that would protect part of their retirement savings, up from 48% in 2015.
Researchers also asked what actions they could take in the five to 10 years before the start of retirement to help ensure a more secure retirement. Thirty-one percent said putting some of their money into a financial product that offered both a balance of potential growth (up to 10%) and some level of protection (no loss of money if the market dropped 10%).
The study said expectations of future volatility partly explained this need for protection. More than four in 10 survey respondents still feared a big market crash or a major recession on the horizon. As a result, interest in financial products that offer a balance of growth potential and protection is growing.
“Volatility matters, and while we see some increasing comfort with volatility, it is driving a simmering anxiety in many Americans,” Paul Kelash, vice president of consumer insights for Allianz Life, said in a statement.
“This anxiety about the negative effects volatility can have on their retirement savings is very real and people are still searching for the right solutions.”
Allianz Life conducted the online survey in April with a nationally representative sample of 803 adult respondents who are still working. An additional 234 respondents with investable assets of $200,000 or more completed the survey, bringing the total respondents with that level of assets to 515.
