Americans Feel Unprepared to Inherit Money: Survey

These are the main ways adults receiving an inheritance plan to use it:

Paying off debt: 37%
Supplementing retirement savings: 35%
Preserving the inheritance with the intention of passing it down: 26%

“Navigating competing priorities and family dynamics while grieving can make it even harder to know where to start or where to get reliable and objective advice,” Schmitt said. “While baby boomers are the most likely generation to say they prefer to get guidance from a financial or tax professional, Gen Xers and millennials, two cohorts set to inherit from baby boomers through 2045, could benefit from seeking professional advice, too.”

Retirement Savings Under Pressure

When it comes to how survey participants view the level of support provided in retirement, 56% said support systems are in place to help them with retirement, but 44% said they are “doing it alone.” Retirees were likelier than pre-retirees to say they are managing their retirement alone.

Sixty percent of respondents said Social Security will be their main source of financial support in retirement, 47% said personal savings and 33% said an employer provided pension. Millennials and Generation Z were less likely to say they plan to support themselves with Social Security in retirement.

Three-quarters of participants said they would need additional ways to support themselves in retirement, mainly by going back to work part time, downsizing home/lifestyle and designing alternative income streams.

The survey found that 36% of adults feel less prepared for retirement compared to their parents/guardians. Financial comfort levels and preparedness differed for heterosexual and LGBTQ+ respondents, with 38% of the latter reporting anxiety about their finances overall, compared with 24% of the former.

Thirty-nine percent of heterosexual people reported that they have retirement savings, compared with 29% of LGBTQ+ people. Forty-eight percent of the latter said they are not confident in their ability to afford health care in retirement, versus 36% of the former.

More than three-quarters of respondents acknowledged that their ability to save for retirement has been negatively affected — 47% by current inflation, 36% by unexpected expenses and 26% by health issues. Among those who said inflation has hurt their retirement savings, 54% have changed their budget and 25% have changed their savings strategy or are saving less.

Survey participants reported currently having an average of $135,161 saved for retirement and said they would need $4,342,379 to live comfortably. Boomers said they have an average of $223,498 saved and predicted that they would need $2,158,346.

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