Retirement Age Expectations Are Realistic

Generation Y (defined as those born between 1979 and 2000) are the most technologically savvy, consumer driven generation of all time. This generation presents a unique opportunity for further educating already knowledgeable consumers about how to best save for a comfortable retirement.

Generation Y equals their Baby Boomer parents in number, and are more than three times the size of Generation X. When they all reach the workforce and begin contributing to 401(k)s and other retirement vehicles, both sponsored and private, they will wield a huge amount of financial power. Luckily, they are already pre-disposed to seek out an advisor to help them with investment choices and educate them on how to gain an early foothold in their climb toward an affluent retirement.

Per Spectrem research, 30% say that they use the services of professional financial advisor instead of managing the funds themselves or seeking advice from family and friends, as opposed to only 11% of Gen X who do the same. This bodes well for a generation that can be taught to seek financial advice from professionals and use it to their advantage.

Only 5% of Gen Yers are deferring 10% or more of their income, while 40% are deferring between 2% and 4%, per Spectrem survey results. They need to be shown how to develop a consistent and steady financial plan that will allow them to take full advantage of the compounding interest that will exponentially inflate their portfolios over the years. Currently, they are not saving enough and repeating many of the mistakes of their predecessors.

As industry professionals know, one of the best things this large and powerful generation has going for them is time. And a golden opportunity exists to teach them how best to use it by automatically contributing to their retirement plans. Showing this consumer driven generation how they can gain affluence through simple, painless, automatic monthly contribution, is a challenge that is yet to be taken up by the retirement industry.

What Plan Participants Want From a Destination Website
Knowing the online habits and preferences of plan participants can provide useful information that will enable financial institutions to make their websites more useful. This Perspective examines the attitudes and opinions of plan participants around issue

Online Objectives and Goals of Plan Sponsors
Over the past several years, the Internet has become a primary channel for business communications. For retirement plan sponsors, the development of plan websites has given them immediate access to a wide range of information and capabilities. But how well has it worked?

IRA Rollover 2007
This study provides an in-depth examination of the IRA rollover market, including sizing and segmenting the overall market. Our research used a sample of 1,000 individuals who have had the opportunity to rollover their retirement plan balance within the past two years. We analyzed the IRA providers selected, the reasons for their selection as well as identified participant needs and preferences in terms of products and advice/assistance. We also delved into participant preferences and behavior in terms of retirement income solutions. Financial institutions can gain insights to how to position themselves to capture a bigger market share of the IRA rollover business.

Advisor Insights Series

• Capturing High Balance IRA Rollovers
• Affluent Women and Financial Decisions
• Communicating Effectively with Investors
• Future Trends in Financial Services
• Insurance Opportunities in the Affluent Market
• Meeting the Financial Needs of the Business Owners
• Privacy Concerns of the Affluent Investor
• The Perfect Advisor: Hiring the Right Skills Sets
• Tax Planning and the Affluent Investor
• The Use of Financial Planning in the Affluent Market