Think that retirement worries are restricted to the vast hordes of under-prepared workers in the United States? Not exactly.
According to new research from Accenture, Americans have much in common with people from 15 other major industrialized countries across the globe – in that 82 percent of some 8,000 people surveyed around the world said they too are worried about their finances after retirement.
The story, it seems, is the same in places from Australia to China: 89 percent say they know it's important to start saving now, but only 16 percent feel that they're doing enough now to actually have a safe amount of money for retirement.
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And the feelings of helplessness when it comes to figuring out their retirement solutions also seem universal. Just over half of the respondents said they are missing the necessary information to plan for retirement, and 57 percent say they personally lack the financial capacity to invest in private pension plans. More than two-thirds can't figure out how much they'd need to save in order to live well in retirement, as well.
The message, Accenture suggests, is that financial advisors can indeed help offset those concerns and the general feelings of confusion and cluelessness that many workers feel about their retirement planning – both in the U.S. and abroad.
"The strong common global concerns about post-retirement financial security are alarming," said Mark A. Halverson, managing director of financial services for the company. "These findings reveal a major unmet demand for retirement planning that industry professionals can address. However, they will need to shape their products and services in a way that will help people take action and better prepare for the future."
If providers can also work to give consumers more clear descriptions of the benefits and risks of investment options – some of which will be addressed in the upcoming DOL-mandated fee disclosures being unveiled this summer – more workers would be interested in taking part in retirement investment, Accenture found.
Around the world, who are the most confident in their savings? The survey found that Indians, Chinese and Americans feel the best, while Russians, Japanese and South Koreans have the biggest concerns.
Folks in the U.S. join Germans, Australians and Britons as being the most optimistic about their financial fate after retirement; Mexican, Russians and Spaniards say they have much less confidence.
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