Youngest and Oldest Participants Most Confident

Forty-four percent of retirement plan participants ages 20 to 30 and 45% of those older than 50 are either “confident” or “very confident,” according to the survey conducted by the companies of OneAmerica. Only 37% of respondents 30- to 40-years-old and 35% of those 40 to 50 responded with such confidence.    

The 40- to 50-year-old group is also the group with the most respondents (25%) who said they are “completely doubtful” or “not confident” in their ability to retire and maintain current lifestyle.    

“The drivers of retirement confidence likely vary from generation to generation,” said Marsha Whitehead, vice president of marketing communications for the retirement services division. “Younger people may be overly confident because retirement seems so far off to them, whereas older people may be drawing confidence from their life experience or may have adjusted their expectations.”   

The companies of OneAmerica surveyed visitors to its participant website to determine how they learned about finances and prepared for retirement, what resources are most effective and how confident they are with their retirement preparations; 6,360 participants responded.