Data & Research October 21, 2013

Americans Foresee a Working Retirement

American workers believe they will be working well into their retirement years, according to a new survey.
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The Risk Perception Survey, from reinsurance and financial services group Swiss Re, found 57% of Americans workers expect to retire beyond the age of 65 or never retire at all. Nineteen percent of U.S. respondents—more than any other market surveyed—believe they will be working at least until the age of 70, and 12% believe they never will be in a position to retire. A further 21% simply don’t know when their working lives will end.

The survey found workers in China, Hong Kong and Brazil have more-positive views regarding the financial viability of their retirement years, with 78%, 45% and 42% of respondents, respectively, who believe they will retire before the age of 64. Across the markets surveyed, 38% of workers think they’ll retire by the age of 64, compared with only 22% of Americans.

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“Americans are starting to recognize that living longer will require a shift in retirement planning. For many Americans surveyed, age 70 is the new 65,” said George Graziani, head of Longevity North America, Swiss Re.

The survey was conducted as part of Swiss Re’s “150 Years Anniversary” initiatives to encourage dialogue about how global communities tackle the biggest risks facing them today and in the future. Conducted in partnership with global polling firm The Gallup Organization Europe, the survey queried nearly 22,000 workers age 15 and older, across 19 markets, in April and May.

More survey results can be found here.

Products October 21, 2013

SunGard Unveils Planning Tool

WealthStation CompAct is SunGard’s financial planning tool that lets advisers produce results-based, holistic financial plans quickly, simply and interactively.
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Eight financial planning concepts—including retirement planning, accumulation planning, asset allocation, cash/debt management, financial priorities and financial statements—are addressed and illustrated with charts and summary tables. The financial planning tool simplifies complex information and helps advisers make financial plans more meaningful to investors.

The tool is used collaboratively with an adviser’s clients to develop a basic financial plan. In a statement, SunGard said the solution is suitable for advisers who have resisted providing this service because of the complexity of the software tools available.

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The tool is integrated with SunGard’s financial planning application WealthStation Financial Planning, so that firms can adapt to changing client needs as they become more complex, but is a single stand-alone application.

According to SunGard, WealthStation CompAct can help advisers redefine and strengthen client relationships through several capabilities:

  • Simplified prioritization of goals by focusing the client’s resources on the most important topics first;
  • Streamlined data input process through tools that automatically set assumptions, provide recommendations, and illustrate various scenarios for comparison;
  • Generation of a client-focused analysis including easy-to-understand illustrations;
  • Incorporating SunGard’s MyRetirement to help advisers determine a client’s withdrawal rate during retirement; and
  • Integration with WealthStation Financial Planning to provide efficiencies in creating a more in-depth plan at a later date if needed.

The increase in competition and drive to greater efficiency and productivity makes it more necessary for advisers to differentiate themselves with client-friendly financial plans and to help clients quickly understand how to achieve prioritized goals, said Jennifer Valdez, senior vice president and general manager of SunGard’s wealth and retirement administration business. “At the same time, financial advisers are looking to extend the financial planning experience to more clients, and do so efficiently, consistently and profitably,” Valdez said.

SunGard’s WealthStation CompAct addresses multiple planning concepts at a simple level of user interactivity, helping advisers prioritize multiple client goals and streamline the plan-creation process.”

More information about the tool is on SunGard’s site.

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