survey shows healthcare costs and market volatility drive client fears.
of all the concerns impacting americans’ retirement today, running out of money, maintaining their lifestyle and rising healthcare expenses continue to top the list, according to a new survey of cpa financial planners.
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running out of money is the top financial concern of clients planning for retirement, cited by 30 percent of cpa financial planners in the aicpa survey. this reflects an improvement from the aicpa’s 2016 survey, which found 41 percent of clients listing it as a top concern. this is likely due to the economy’s steady improvement over the last few years, with the stock market continuing to climb despite volatility. clients worried about maintaining their current lifestyle and spending level (28 percent) in retirement was a close second financial concern. stress from rising health care costs (18 percent) was a distant third. however, with medical costs forecast to continue growing throughout 2019, it is not surprising that this concern is up seven percentage points from 2016.
“there’s been a relatively steady increase in asset values over the last few years. this, in turn, has led to stronger client balance sheets and presumably increased confidence that their money will continue working for them well into retirement,” says michael landsberg, cpa/pfs member of the aicpa personal financial planning executive committee. “of course, all of this can change which is why it is important to revisit asset allocation, make appropriate adjustments and ensure your savings and investments will be able to fund the lifestyle you envision in retirement.”
nearly half, or 48 percent, of clients have expressed concerns about outliving their money, according to the survey. interestingly, that outweighs the 39 percent of planners who have concerns about their clients outliving their money. this underscores the extent to which even well-positioned clients are stressed over the prospect they’ll outlive their cash. when asked about the top three sources of client financial and emotional stress concerning outliving their money, healthcare costs (at 77 percent), market fluctuations (53 percent) and unexpected costs (50 percent) were cited as the top issues. additional causes for financial stress include lifestyle expenses (42 percent), the possibility of being a financial burden on their relatives (22 percent) and the desire to leave an inheritance for their children (21 percent).
even with adequate planning, retirement becomes more complicated as clients age. in fact, 57 percent of cpas are seeing long term care issues impact their clients’ retirement planning more frequently than they did five years ago. only one percent saw this issue crop up less often, with 42 percent saying they had not seen a change. fifty percent of cpas saw an increase in clients taking care of aging relatives, with only 3 percent seeing this issue less often, and 47 percent saying about the same as five years ago. the survey also found 45 percent of cpas citing diminished capacity as an issue impacting clients’ retirement planning more often (3 percent less often, 53 percent about the same) than five years ago.
collectively, these issues demonstrate the competing challenges individuals face when planning for their retirement and the need for expert planning advice to meet their goals. on a positive note, as the labor market has continued to improve more than a third (36 percent) of cpas said job loss is impacting their clients’ retirement planning less often compared to five years ago (55 percent about the same, 9 percent more often).
“it is incumbent on financial planners to act sooner than later when planning for their client’s late retirement years. particularly, they should address client concerns about long-term care and the prospect of diminished capacity to ensure their clients wishes will be carried out,” added millar.
despite some concerns, the overall retirement picture for clients of cpa financial planners is improving. when asked to compare their clients’ current situation to five years ago, half of cpa financial planners (50 percent) say their clients have more confidence they’re ready for retirement. that outweighs the third (33 percent) that stated they find their clients to be less confident. another 17 percent saw no change.