Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly Survey Finds New Retirement Sensibilities and Priorities Emerging Among Affluent Americans
Bank of America, January 14th, 2009
Bank of America today announced findings from the latest Merrill Lynch
Affluent Insights Quarterly, a survey of the values, financial
priorities and concerns of affluent Americans and the challenges and
opportunities they face. Focused largely on issues related to
retirement, the second in this series of quarterly surveys reveals that
many affluent Americans are rethinking their vision of retirement and
offers lessons learned from retirees and what they wished they had done
differently when planning for retirement.
Surprisingly, given the opportunity to do it all again, roughly half
(51%) of retired respondents indicated that they would have focused
more on their "life goals" and less on "the numbers" and on hitting a
specific nest egg dollar amount when planning for retirement, while the
remaining respondents (49%) indicated that they would have focused more
on "the numbers."
Retirees who wished they had focused more on their "life
goals" indicated that they would have spent more time determining how
they wanted to live in their retirement years (38%) and based their
retirement income needs not just on a number that would sustain them
but on one that would help them live their ideal lifestyle during these
years (13%). Additionally, 8 percent would have created a plan to
better support their philanthropic missions. Among those who indicated
that they would have focused more on "the numbers," 23 percent wished
they had started working with a financial advisor earlier in life and
18 percent would have given up more luxuries in order to reach their
retirement goals. Among all retired respondents, three out of 10 (31%)
worked with a financial advisor when planning for retirement, though,
in hindsight, more than half (55%) wished they had started doing so
sooner.
"Helping our clients plan for retirement will continue to be
a core focus for our business in the years ahead," said Sallie
Krawcheck, president of Bank of America Global Wealth & Investment
Management. "Our experienced Financial Advisors work closely with
clients to better understand their lifetime aspirations. Through this
personal approach, coupled with a sophisticated portfolio of financial
solutions, we strive to help clients minimize the complexity and
uncertainty associated with retirement, allowing them to concentrate on
what matters most."
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