More than half of U.S. boomers don’t have an advisor

While most middle-income boomers in the U.S. have a hairdresser (73%), mechanic (66%), or handyman (52%), only 41% use a financial professional, according to a study by the Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement.

Of middle-income boomers not working with a professional, 39% don’t think they need financial advice because they prefer to make their own decisions. Other reasons vary, from feeling they don’t have enough savings (20%) to believing financial advice is too expensive (11%).

Read: Older Canadians struggle with monthly expenses

Many middle-income Americans could be without adequate plans for retirement due to the tendency of the financial services industry to cater to wealthy Americans. Of boomers who don’t have a financial professional, 85% have not been contacted by one asking for their business in the past year; and 63% have never been contacted.

Of those who have a financial professional, 25% sought out the relationship themselves. For only 6%, the relationship was initiated by the advisor.

Read: Canadians fall short of goals by average of $45,000

Additional findings include:

• 62% express some doubts that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement;
• 48% who work with a financial professional are confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement regardless of asset level, while 30% without a professional feel that way; and
• 26% of those who have a financial professional have investable assets of more than $500,000; compared to 5% of those without a professional.

Read: Maximum pensionable earnings for 2015 released

The study surveyed 1,000 Americans aged 50 to 68, with an annual household income between $25,000 and $100,000.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.