The financial crisis has had an enormous impact on the financial plans of millions of people around the world. The savings of millions of retirees and near retirees have taken a huge hit at the worst possible time.
This message has become fairly ubiquitous in the financial media.
However, the message that has not been as clear involves longevity risk. The reality is that average lifespans are headed in the opposite direction from the levels of saving required to fund those golden years.
According to a recent survey by the Phoenix Insurance Company, reality may be starting to sink-in:
“The whole projection of what retirement means to them has changed,” said Walt Zultowski, senior vice president for research and concept development at Phoenix Companies.
Nearly half of the respondents — 49 percent — said they were either planning to retire at a later date than originally planned or they were thinking about it.
It’s largely due to two things: “Their retirement nest eggs have taken a hit,” and they are increasingly aware that “they might be one of the people who lives to — not just 80, but — 90, 95 or 100,”
Source: CNBC
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Anonymous replied on Permalink
longevity
this is a key point. no one knows how long they are going to live and should be conservative when thinking about how to outlast their assets. more tools should be created to help near-retirees consider this.