Silvaggi will
lead a team that helps customers explore their savings options, including
discussing whether an IRA might be an effective strategy. The team also assists
Great-West Financial IRA customers with investment and account education.
Silvaggi is based in Denver and reports to Bob Shaw, executive vice president
of the company’s individual markets business.
Silvaggi joins
Great-West Financial from Morgan Stanley, where he led sales
as vice president, personal retirement business development. He also brings
financial services expertise from previous roles at RolloverSystems Inc.,
Prudential Financial and Royal Bank of Scotland. He holds a bachelor’s degree
in business administration from Muhlenberg College.
According to the survey
from the State Farm Center for Women and Financial Services at The American
College, nearly three in four women reported they considered saving for
retirement as a high financial priority. Hispanic (67%) and Asian women
(68%) were less likely than women in the general population (predominantly
Caucasian, 73%) and African-American women (74%) to place an emphasis on
retirement savings.
Among Asian women, even
those with higher incomes were less likely to prioritize accumulating assets
for retirement. Those women who do not work with a financial adviser were
less likely to say that saving for retirement was a high priority.
In terms of retirement
vehicles, workplace retirement plans were found to be the most common way women
are saving for retirement. According to the survey report, seven in ten women
overall (70%) have a defined contribution (DC) retirement plan through work.
Another one in four (24%) have a traditional defined benefit pension (DB)
plan.
African-American women
were more likely than average to report having both a DC (76%) and a DB plan
(27%) available to them. Of those with a DC plan at work, nine in ten (89%) say
they are currently contributing money. African-American women were found to be
significantly more likely to say they were not contributing.
(Cont’d…)
The report also found
that Hispanic and African-American women were less likely to have individual
savings and investment products. Hispanic women (37%) and, to an even greater extent,
African-American women (31%) were less likely than others to report owning an
IRA. Women in these two groups were also less likely to have stock and bond
mutual funds, individual stocks and bonds, or annuities.
Seventy-three percent of
survey respondents expressed at least some level of concern about running
out of money in retirement. Just 28% of women are highly
confident in their ability to calculate how much they need to save for
retirement.
Expectations for
retirement lifestyles, especially for working and housing in retirement, vary
quite a bit and reveal troubling gaps in preparation, according to the report.
For example, many Americans retire before they plan to, typically due to health
issues that prevent them from working. Yet, many of the women surveyed for the
report plan to work in retirement and may be planning on that income. Hispanic
women were found to be especially likely to say they plan to work in
retirement, and Asian and African-American women are more inclined than others
to say they plan to start a business in retirement.
Housing plays a vital role in retirement
finances, says the report. Both Asian and Hispanic women suggest that they will
alter their living situations in retirement. They are more likely than women in
the general population and African-American women to say that they plan to
downsize their housing in retirement or to live abroad during their retirement
years.
(Cont’d…)
Half of survey
participants agree that working with a financial adviser would help them
achieve their financial goals. However, even among the more affluent
respondents, women of color (29% Hispanic, 32% Asian and 29% African American)
are less likely than women overall (43%) to be working with an adviser.
Women of color are more
likely than the general population to think they cannot afford a financial
adviser. In addition, only three in ten women, overall, feel confident in their
ability to select the right adviser to work with. Twenty-three percent of all
respondents indicated it is important to work with an adviser who specialized
in women’s unique financial needs.
The report suggests
financial advisers and plan sponsors need to address the challenges that these
women face. Steps should be taken to improve a sense of financial security,
learn how to build cash reserves, plan for retirement, and manage personal
risks. Related efforts include increasing outreach to women of color, reviewing
their insurance protection, quantifying retirement-related goals, and
recognizing family demands such as helping children with educational goals and
home care of infirm relatives.