Over 85 Percent of Seniors are Concerned About Their Retirement Due to Coronavirus

Will their retirement portfolios still get them through?

ORANGE, Calif., June 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented market downturn, leaving many American seniors feeling uncertain about their retirement. To better understand how seniors are reacting to the volatile market, American Advisors Group (AAG) conducted the AAG COVID Market Survey Series with over 1400 participants age 60 or older. As of April, key findings showed that 87.5% of participants had some level of “concern,” ranging from slight to extreme, about their portfolios and roughly 80% believe their retirement lifestyles will be “impacted” to some degree.

“The results of these surveys clearly show that seniors are worried about their financial future due to the effect that COVID-19 has had on the stock market,” said AAG Chief Marketing Officer Martin Lenoir. “The market volatility has had a huge impact on American retirement portfolios, which has led to increased interest in alternative solutions, such as utilizing home equity. We’re seeing more seniors using products, like a reverse mortgage line of credit, to access their home equity and give their other retirement assets time to recover.”

Survey Results and Findings:

• In March, nearly 83% of participants answered they were at least “slightly” concerned about their retirement portfolio due to the current market conditions. In April, that number grew to 87.5%, with 39% describing their level of concern as “very” or “extremely.”
• In March, over 81% of participants felt the current market would at least “slightly” affect their retirement lifestyle. In April that number remained nearly the same at 79.5%, with 25% describing the level of impact as “very” or “extremely.”
• In March, 26% of participants answered that they had less than $100,000 in their retirement portfolio, but in April that number grew to 43%.
• Despite the high number of concerned participants, 89% of participants in April were confident that they had enough available funds to ride out the market downturn.
• Nearly 95% of participants are not considering selling any of their assets to fund their retirement needs.
• For those who have never had a reverse mortgage, 13% stated that they would consider one if it would allow their portfolio to recover. One month later that number grew to 19.5%.
• Nearly half (48.8%) of respondents said they planned to “boost their emergency fund” when asked about the strategy they would employ in order to “improve their finances during retirement.”

Excerpts from the report AAG COVID Market Survey Series:

Most seniors don’t have a large amount of funds in their retirement portfolios. In March, 26% of participants answered that they had less than $100,000 in their retirement portfolio, but in April that number grew to 43%.

Seniors remain confident that they have enough funds to ride out the market crash despite being concerned. In April, 89% were confident that they had enough available funds to ride out the market downturn. However, the level of confidence among seniors who answered they were “extremely” or “very” confident dropped from 41% in March to 34% in April.

Despite the potential threat that the pandemic poses to the retirement portfolios of older Americans, nearly 95% of participants are not considering selling any of their assets to fund their retirement needs.

When asked what strategies they planned to use to improve their finances during retirement, nearly half (48.8%) of all respondents in April said they planned to boost their “emergency fund,” although it was unclear where these funds would come from.

To read the full results of the AAG COVID Market Survey Series, visit aag.com/covid-survey/

AAG conducted the 2020 COVID Market Survey Series in two stages with roughly 700 participants in each stage. The first survey was issued on March 17, the day after the DOW fell by nearly 13% and the follow-up survey was issued on April 15. The survey was conducted on a digital platform so that participants from all regions of the United States could answer from the safety of their homes. Participants were asked questions in a variety of ways from simple yes-or-no answers, to describing their beliefs on issues from “not at all” to “extremely.” All participants were selected randomly with age being the only qualifying factor.

About AAG
AAG is dedicated to helping older Americans find new ways to fund a better retirement through the responsible use of home equity. As the nation’s leader in reverse mortgage lending, AAG offers a suite of home equity solutions — including Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, traditional and proprietary mortgages, and real estate services — that are designed to give seniors a better financial outcome in retirement. AAG is a proud member of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). To learn more about AAG and reverse mortgage loans, please visit the company’s website at www.aag.com.