Single seniors are having a much harder time affording retirement than their married counterparts, according to new research from American Advisors Group (AAG).
While inflation and the current economic climate have put a financial strain on many older Americans, the new data shows that unmarried seniors are clearly the most affected.
For example, the survey found retirement plans have been less successful for single seniors. 36% of single seniors (and 41% of single senior women) said their retirement did not work out as planned, while only 23% of married couples answered the same.
Traditional retirement strategies have worked less often for single seniors. The data show 30% of single seniors (and 34% of single senior women) feel the financial advice they were given did not work out for them, while only 20% of married couples answered the same.
“Single seniors face a lot of additional challenges, such as receiving only one Social Security income or lacking a second retirement savings, and that can make traditional retirement strategies less effective,” said AAG Chief Marketing Officer Martin Lenoir. “For many unmarried seniors, their home is their most valuable asset, which is why we often see them utilizing their home equity to help fund their retirement. Especially in times of inflation, it’s common for senior homeowners to take out a line of credit using a reverse mortgage to preserve their retirement portfolios.”
In an effort to learn exactly why single seniors are struggling to afford their retirement years, Irvine, Calif.-based AAG, a leader in home equity solutions for seniors, conducted the Modern Retirement Survey with over 1,500 participants ages 60-75.
Additional key findings:
- Single seniors are less comfortable with their current financial state and have more desire to increase their cash flow. 46% of single seniors (50% of single senior women) said they need to increase their monthly cash flow as compared to only 32% of married seniors.
- Single seniors struggle more to create the financial nest egg they planned to have saved. 44% percent of single seniors said they have less money than they thought they would have as compared to just 32% of married couples.
- Single and married seniors rely on different sources of income to fund their retirement. When given a list of options for primary income, the most popular answer among single seniors was Social Security at 39%. Married seniors selected “pension” as the most popular response with 31% of couples claiming it as their primary income.
- One commonality between married and unmarried seniors is the concern over inflation with over 65% of each group expressing worry that it will negatively impact their retirement.
To read the full results of AAG’s Modern Retirement Survey, visit: https://www.aag.com/retirement-survey-2022
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