Only 3 in 10 Americans Feel Confident About Retirement Offerings According to New Survey from Unbiased.com
More Americans Still Relying on Financial Advice from Family and Friends Over Other Sources
New survey data reveals a startling truth: the vast majority of individuals nearing retirement age in the U.S. harbor significant doubts and lack education about retirement offerings. The latest survey findings from personal finance platform Unbiased found that only 30% of adults felt high levels of confidence about the retirement products available to them. The Unbiased Retirement Confidence Survey also revealed that a considerable 76% of adults over 50 - those presumably closer to their retirement years - expressed little or no confidence at all about retirement products available.
When asked about what led to the lack of confidence, over a third said they “don’t know where to start,” and 34% found the financial jargon too complex. The survey also indicated a lack of familiarity with certain financial products. Just over half of the respondents indicated a strong level of knowledge about 401(k)s 403(b)s and IRAs, but only 12% felt they had a strong familiarity with annuities and only 11% claimed considerable knowledge about defined benefit plans.
One big reason for concern and confusion around retirement could be correlated to a lack of professional input. Nearly half of all respondents (47%) cited online searches and friends/family as their main sources for financial advice. Yet, only 30% sought guidance from a professional financial advisor.
“The majority of Americans are not feeling confident about their retirement options,” says Unbiased founder and CEO Karen Barrett. “It also appears that many are not seeking professional help despite these concerns. Unbiased is on a mission to educate people about the importance of engaging a credentialed financial advisor - regardless of your wealth or circumstance so that you can navigate your retirement options more confidently.”
Respondents also cited that their key concerns about retirement planning are driven by worries about “inflation” (59%) and “healthcare/unexpected risks” (56%), underscoring the unease felt by many Americans about the state of the healthcare system and how their health could affect their ability to support themselves in their later years.
Of those surveyed who did cite feeling confident about their retirement options, 1 out of 4 attributed that confidence to the fact they’d engaged a financial planner. “Retirement can be an overwhelming concept and it requires careful planning. Far too many people put this off until it is too late, or don’t get the right advice,” says Barrett. “Planning for retirement is one of life’s biggest decisions and it is certainly one of those instances where you want to consider professional guidance.”
*The Unbiased Retirement Confidence Survey of 1,071 Americans over the age of 18 was conducted May 5-9 2023. The data for this survey was collected using SurveyMonkey Audience. Information on how respondents are recruited to SurveyMonkey is available here: www.surveymonkey.com/mp/audience
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About Unbiased
Unbiased is a personal finance platform that empowers individuals to make confident, competent financial decisions. For over a decade, Unbiased has held the top position in the U.K. for connecting people with regulated, independent financial advisors and in early 2023, Unbiased expanded its presence to the United States with the launch of Unbiased.com. To date, more than 10 million individuals have relied on Unbiased to find trustworthy financial advisors. In just the past year, Unbiased has assisted financial advisors in acquiring more than $20 billion in new assets under management (AUM).
Our dynamic search feature uniquely pairs consumers with finance professionals, while our knowledge hub provides an array of tools, calculators, and resources to support navigating Life's Biggest Financial Decisions. Our advisor platform delivers data, analytics, and engagement tools to ensure that advisors achieve industry-leading conversion rates, streamlining the onboarding process for new clients. For more information, please visit Unbiased.com
Writer
Charlie Barton is a writer at Unbiased. He has been writing about personal finance and investing since 2017, with extensive knowledge of platforms and products. Charlie has a first-class degree from the London School of Economics.