Industry Groups Launch Retirement Planning Awareness Campaign

By Cyril Tuohy

InsuranceNewsNet

In the wake of a spate of studies showing Americans worried about their ability to finance retirement, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) and the National Retirement Planning Coalition have launched a campaign to increase consumer understanding of important retirement planning.

"Too many Americans are woefully unprepared and lack the savings to enjoy a financially secure retirement," Cathy Weatherford, IRI president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. "Financial security in retirement is attainable, but to achieve it requires planning and saving. Education will be the key to get Americans back on track.”

The goal of the initiative is to help Americans understand retirement planning concepts, long-term financial needs, products and services that meet those needs, and to chart a course toward financial security.

The six-month nationwide campaign will include activities focused on various aspects of retirement planning, including Social Security, budgeting and managing assets. More information is available at www.retireonyourterms.org. The campaign was announced during a meeting of the American Savings Education Council held as part of National Retirement Planning Week.

The latest Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Mathew Greenwald & Associates found that the percentage of workers confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement remains near record lows.

Results of a separate nationwide survey released this week by Wells Fargo found that African-American investors are also worried about having enough money to retire. Three in five African-American investors are more focused on debt reduction (59 percent) than saving for retirement, the Wells Fargo survey found. Just over half (52 percent) are concerned they won’t have enough saved for retirement.

“All investors – regardless of age or level of savings – should be focused on planning for retirement, and turning plans into actual saving and investing,” Jeff Cosby, financial advisor and vice president, investment officer in the Bloomington, Minn., office of Wells Fargo Advisors, said in a news release.

Saving for retirement in this economy may be “daunting,” but professional advice can go a long way to helping investors reach their long-term goals, he said.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer living in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He has also written about food, restaurants and travel. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at [email protected].