Financial satisfaction is booming, but so are worries, surveys find

Charles Dickens was onto something. These are the best of times in at least a decade for a sense of financial well-being, according to the results of one survey, while almost half of older Americans are worried they’ll run out of money in retirement, according to another.

The good news comes from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which found that Americans’ financial satisfaction climbed from record lows to all-time highs over the last decade. Gains in the stock market since post-financial crisis lows, and especially in 2019, were largely the reason for the current good feelings, along with the current low unemployment rate. These outweighed slight increases in negative feelings arising from taxes and inflation.

A survey by Schroders, however, paints a bleaker picture, in which 42% those over the age of 45 classify themselves as being concerned or very concerned about outliving their assets.

The survey found that 67% of all respondents do not believe their monthly Social Security checks will be enough to live on — yet 39% of those who reported being retired began taking their benefits at age 62, receiving less monthly than if they deferred benefits to a later age.

Schroders noted “an overwhelming lack of understanding surrounding Social Security benefit payouts amounts” among the youngest age cohort, with 52% of people ages 45 to 59 being unsure of how much they can expect to receive in retirement.

It found that 30% of all assets for all respondents were being held in cash.

“As the industry has transitioned from employer-directed pension plans to self-directed retirement programs as a means for funding retirement, it appears that we have left a post-retirement education and planning gap for the vast majority of our population” said Joel Schiffman, Schroders’ head of intermediary distribution in North America.