Are Advisors Underestimating Their Clients' Retirement Anxiety?

What You Need to Know

More than half of investors who are not retired expressed high stress about their long-term and post-retirement financial futures.
The threat of a recession and high inflation have prompted many near-retirees to rethink when they can retire.
Advisors may be underestimating the level of anxiety their clients are experiencing.

To say investors are anxious about their personal finances in today’s turbulent economic environment may be something of an understatement. It would be more accurate to say they’re downright terrified, according to survey results released Monday by Nationwide.

Fifty-one percent of investors who are not retired expressed high stress about their long-term and post-retirement financial futures, and 43% said they check their retirement accounts more than three times a week.

This habit is more common among women than men, even though men are slightly more likely to say they are terrified about their long-term financial futures than women.

“As the holiday season approaches, it may be best to take a break from obsessively checking retirement balances,” Eric Henderson, president of Nationwide Annuity, said in a statement. “This can create self-induced anxiety which can lead to short-sighted, emotional decisions.”

A better approach, Henderson said, is to have a conversation with an advisor or financial professional and establish a long-term plan, or revisit the plan that is already in place to ensure it remains aligned with one’s goals in the current environment.

The survey found that although male respondents were marginally more likely than female ones to say they are nervous about their post-retirement financial future, women were twice as likely to say their retirement expectations will change drastically if the U.S. economy enters a significant downturn.

Women were somewhat likelier than men to say that they are taking steps to adjust their retirement portfolio in light of recent market volatility. Nationwide said this proactive preparation may help explain why 41% of women agreed that they feel confident in their financial plan despite market volatility, compared with just 11% of men who expressed confidence.

The Harris Poll conducted the survey in the U.S. from July 27 to Aug. 16 among 506 financial advisors and 521 adult investors with $10,000 or more of investable assets.