Written Retirement Plans Are Better Motivators

The top financial concern among Americans remains having enough money for a comfortable retirement, according to a new analysis on the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute’s web portal, “A Written Retirement Plan Can Make a Big Difference.”

Despite this high level of concern, four in 10 Americans are not confident they will have a secure retirement. Part of their concern may involve a lack of sufficient regular saving, LIMRA notes, as 80% of workers acknowledge they need to save more to be on track for their retirement. 

LIMRA’s survey results show nine out of 10 savers say a written plan helps them to better understand their goals, while three out of four feel they are more likely to follow a written retirement plan.

Not surprisingly, LIMRA reports that retirees and pre-retirees who work with a financial professional are twice as likely to have developed a written plan for generating income in retirement. They are also more likely to have done comprehensive planning, such as calculating total retirement assets across savings plans or estimating retirement income and expenses, LIMRA says.

Further highlighting the important of professional advice, 71% of people who work with an adviser say they are confident about saving enough for retirement. Only 43% who do not work with an adviser express this confidence, LIMRA notes. 

Additional research and analysis is available at www.limra.com/secureretirementinstitute/.