Survey, commissioned by American Association of Retired Persons and the American Council of Life Insurers, has reported that retirees, highly concerned about running out of financial assets, may be overly focused on preserving their savings principal and needlessly reducing their quality of life.
The American Association of Retired Persons-American Council of Life Insurers (AARP-ACLI) study has examined the retirement finance strategies of retirees aged 60 to 75 with assets of at least $50,000, not including their homes. The survey has found that three in four of those interviewed are concentrating on either building or maintaining their ‘savings and investment principal.’
The study has also reported that the plans to curtail spending may be a long-term strategy for many retirees given the fact that two in three of those interviewed said that they would cut back on their spending ‘if the value of their investments went down by five percent.’
Jean Setzfand, director of economic issues agenda at AARP, said: Many retirees may be able to improve the quality of their lives without risking their nest egg. While retirees should protect enough savings to allow for things like the skyrocketing costs of health care and a longer life expectancy, it is important to determine whether you can use your money to make retirement more enjoyable.