More Americans think their retirement will be worse than that of previous generations, according to results of an annual survey published Monday by Franklin Templeton Investments.
Forty-one percent predicted their retirement would be worse than that of previous generations, while 25% said it would be better and 33% said it would be similar, said a news release announcing the survey results.
Even with improving economic conditions, 48% of respondents are concerned about outliving their assets or having to make major sacrifices to their plans for retirement vs. 44% expressing the same concern at the beginning of last year, the news release said.
When asked what they would do if they were unable to retire as planned due to insufficient income, the top choice among people still working was “retire later,” the release said.
Stacey Johnston Coleman, a Franklin Templeton spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail that 62% said “retire later,” while 46% said they would find other income sources (such as part-time work) and 45% said they would reduce expenses or scale back lifestyle expectations. (Respondents could provide more than one answer.)
"The difficulty is that retiring later and introducing new sources of income aren't always viable solutions to meeting retirement income needs," Michael Doshier, vice president of retirement marketing for Franklin Templeton, said in the news release. "Our survey shows that … 24% of retirees retired not by choice but due to circumstances beyond their control."
The 2014 Franklin Templeton Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations survey was conducted online in January among a sample of 2,011 adults, comprising 1,008 men and 1,003 women 18 years and older. The survey wasn't restricted to clients of Franklin Templeton Investments.
