The fourth annual survey is part of AXA Equitable's continued effort to enhance its understanding of the issues, perceptions, concerns and wishes surrounding retirement, and to help in its ongoing development of innovative financial and retirement planning services. Both workers and retirees were surveyed about their financial preparations, quality of life and views on retirement.
Other key findings from U.S. respondents included:
- The standard of living in retirement is not improving. The majority of working Americans (85 percent) feels their living standards will remain the same or decrease in retirement, and 81 percent of retirees report their living standards have remained the same or decreased.
- Americans are adverse to financial risk. According to the survey, majorities of both working and retired Americans say they would be most interested in financial products that potentially yield a minimum return without any financial risk.
- U.S. workers also believe Social Security is in serious trouble, if not in crisis. This is of particular concern to those, aged 25 to 34, who fear Social Security will run out by the time they are eligible. About half of both working Americans and retirees surveyed expect retirement reform in the next 10 years. Of those, nearly 80 percent say such reform will raise the minimum retirement age, while two-thirds or higher say it will reduce benefits. This leaves the U.S. positioned near the top of the list when it comes to the perception of having a troubled pension system.
- Retirement income is lower. Seven in 10 American retirees report
receiving lower income in retirement than their most recent salary.
New to the survey this year are the opinions of workers and retirees on the issue of global warming -- who is responsible and who is willing to change their habits. Results show the U.S. lags behind other countries in recognizing global warming. Compared to other countries surveyed, the U.S. is second to last in its overall concern for global warming.
"Overall, our survey findings suggest that Americans are beginning to wake up to the realities of retirement," said Ken Gelman, Vice President and Director of Market Research for New York-based AXA Equitable. "Though most Americans are saving for retirement, they are saving less each month than in the past two previous years. They are also expressing concern about their retirement income and standard of living. They realize they have to work longer and prepare earlier to achieve their goals.
Gelman added, "Concern about retirement income is rapidly increasing for the growing number of Americans who will cross over from working to retired in the next 20 years. In fact, according to our survey data, most Americans are beginning to prepare for retirement on average at age 30. The more we know about consumers' perception going into retirement and their reality at retirement, the better equipped we will be to help them approach this life chapter with confidence, leveraging opportunities for managing, growing and protecting their assets. The AXA Equitable Retirement Scope Survey is providing us with this insight, year after year."
Research firm GfK NOP managed the survey globally for the AXA Group. Local firms fielded the questions in each country during August 2007.
A total of 18,114 people between 25 and 75 years old were interviewed in: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The main sample from the U.S. included 800 people, 400 who are working and 400 who are retired.
