More than half of pre-retireees with incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 had no contact with a financial advisor over the past 12 months, according to a survey by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company's Center for a Secure Retirement (CSR).
Yet, that does not mean no help is available. A NAIFA survey found middle market investors comprise a key client base for the broker-dealers who are NAIFA members. The survey, conducted by LIMRA International, found that 17% of NAIFA members' clients earn less than $50,000 per household, 58% earn less than $100,000 per household, and only 11% earn more than $250,000 per household.
So while help is available, the biggest barrier to middle-market investors' access to advisors may be their own misperceptions. The CRS study found that 37% of the pre-retirees who go without professional financial guidance believe they don't have enough assets to seek help, and another 23% think it is too expensive. The NAIFA survey, in contrast, indicates that advisors are serving clients with a wide variety of needs and at nearly all income levels.
More than eight out of ten of those surveyed by CRS who receive no professional financial advice or services feel that they do not need it. Yet nearly two-thirds are not sure if they have saved enough to retire comfortably. Of those middle-income pre-retirees who are confident they have planned adequately for retirement, 68% have worked with a professional financial advisor. Only 14% of those who have consulted an advisor are worried that they have not saved enough for retirement.
The two surveys show that middle-market Americans can greatly benefit from the services of financial advisors, and, despite the perception of many of those needing help, there are advisors willing to serve them. NAIFA members operate every day in communities across the United States, helping Main Street American meet their financial and retirement goals.
NAIFA also conducted a survey of consumers and discovered one point in common with the CRS survey: both found that more than seven out of ten consumers who work with professional financial advisors are happy with the service they receive.