Don’t touch your retirement savings — don’t! It’s a message sent ad nauseum from 401k, financial and just about every other type of advisor, over and over again.
But is the general public getting it?
TD Ameritrade, taking a break from being bought by Schwab (allegedly), wants an answer, and surveyed 1,015 U.S. adults aged 23 and older with at least $10,000 in investable assets in order to do so.
They broke it out by—what else?—generation and gained some pretty good insight into the demographic differences that exist, as well the values and behavior of each.
For the survey’s purposes, they claim Millennials are age 23-38, Gen X is age 39-54 and Baby Boomers are age 55-73.
And they asked the same question of each cohort:
In which of the following scenarios would you likely withdraw from your retirement savings, such as 401k?
The results
Overall, they found that Americans would most likely withdraw from their retirement savings to cover medical bills (49%) with a job loss, paying down credit card debt and covering a child’s education not far behind.
Millennials would most likely withdraw from their retirement savings to make up for a job loss, while 47% would do it to buy a house with 45% percent withdrawing funds for living expenses during a sabbatical (seriously).
Gen X would most likely withdraw from their retirement savings to cover medical bills, while 45% would do it to cover their child’s education
A much higher percentage of Baby Boomers said they would most likely withdraw from their retirement savings to cover medical bills than other options, which makes sense as they’re getting older. Fully 30% would do it to cover their credit card debt and a job loss, while 24% said they would use it to pay for a vacation.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
