In March, the Society of Actuaries released the first update in four years to its landmark survey on "Understanding and Managing the Risk of Retirement" viewed through the eyes of US. retirees and pre-retirees. More than 1,500 people ages 45 to 80 participated, making this one of the most extensive surveys of its kind and well worth reading.
The biggest concern of U.S. retirees and pre-retirees is inflation, and concerns over inflation have grown substantially since the last update in 2007. In this update, 47 percent of retirees said inflation will affect the amount of money they will need each year in retirement by “a great deal,” compared to just 34 percent who gave this answer four years ago.
The report said:
“Although Federal policy and unemployment have worked to keep overall inflation low in the last few years, retirees feel seriously affected by increases in health care costs, their share of these costs, and by food and energy prices.”
In any conversation with a retirees or pre-retirees, be sure to ask about concerns over inflation. You can access a summary of survey results here:
http://eoplugin.commpartners.com/SOA/2012/120329 percent20slides.pdf
