Annuity Watch

Couples fail Newly Retired game

Posted Sunday, June 21, 2009

This weekend I discovered on TriValleyCentral.com an interesting and -- at least on the surface -- humorous re-enactment of sorts of the classic TV game show, The Newlywed Game.

I say "of sorts" because Fidelity conducted their Couple's Retirement Survey recently, very much in the same way that Bob Eubanks managed his gameshow. They interviewed both sides of real-world couples approaching retirements, asking questions specific to their retirement plans and progress. Even though we're speaking of something incredibly serious -- retirement planning -- the results can only be called comical. Here are the highlights.

Only 38% of couples surveyed jointly discuss their retirement savings plan. And Tony can attest to that fact, as the majority of his clients over the past 24 years of retirement planning leave the big decisions to a single spouse.
But on the flip side, only 15% of couples are confident that the other spouce can -- if they need to -- manage the joint retirement finances. I suppose that's fine if the spouse with a high degree of financial acumen is the doubter, but what if it's the opposite? What if that quiet spouse is the one shaking their head, having no confidence in the other? Scary!
26% of couples couldn't agree on whether or not they owed an IRA. Not that they did or did not own an IRA, but both parties weren't on the same page on whether they owned one or not.
And specific to us with The Annuity Connection, 39% of couples couldn't agree on whether or not they owned an annuity. Or if they did, they both couldn't say how much it would return them in retirement. Again, not whether or not they owned one, but that they could agree that they did or did not own one. Almost half couldn't agree.

I think this study showcases the need for people to be more aware of their own retirement investment plans. We hope to change that with the free retirement planning classes we're putting on at our North Scottsdale office. If you haven't registered yet, I highly encourage you to. This is the exact sort of thing we'll be teaching, and it's 100% free. This isn't a sales pitch, these are training classes. Sure, we'd like to help you with those plans. And if we give you a free education, maybe it'll will create enough good will for you to let us show you want we can do. That's about as "salesy" as we get. These classes really are all about making you a more wise investor in your own retirement. It's what we do.