ATLANTA — A new study about Atlantans retirement preparations, and how they feel about retiring, showed that nearly one-third of Atlanta residents with retirement savings only had a year or less of money set aside.
The study came from Northwestern Mutual and focused on how much an Atlanta resident needs saved up to live comfortably when they retire.
The company said about 22% have less than their yearly income saved for retirement and only 15% said they are confident that outliving their wealth is unlikely.
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The “magic number” for Atlantans to retire comfortably was a reported $1.1 million, according to the study.
Northwestern Mutual also reported that more than half of Atlanta residents think it’s likely they’ll outlive the funds in their savings accounts.
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Even more said that how they view retirement is different than their parents, just 19% saying they felt the same. More than 40% of Atlantans surveyed by Northwestern Mutual said they planned to work, or are working, during their retirement years.
“The biggest differences in retirement life that people expect, generation over generation, are: more activities that are personally fulfilling (49%), more time with friends and family (48%), more travel (47%) more work (38%), and more volunteering (23%),” Northwestern Mutual reported.
On average, Northwestern Mutual reported that 58% said they’d be financially prepared when it’s time to retire.
“In Atlanta, many folks are concerned about retirement – while more than half feel that there is a real possibility that they will outlive their savings, conversely, nearly six in 10 are optimistic that they will be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes,” said Kurt Mattson, CFP, a private wealth advisor and founder of Yari Capital, Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group in Atlanta.
Additionally, Mattson said many Atlantans are feeling anxious when it comes to retiring and encouraged residents to put together a financial plan and work with an advisor to prepare for retirement.
“A comprehensive plan—one that integrates investments, income annuities, and insurance—has been shown to deliver superior financial outcomes long-term compared to a plan that solely focuses on investments,” Mattson said. “Individuals who rely only on an investment plan are left exposed when unexpected events occur.”
More than one-fifth of Atlantans also told Northwestern Mutual that they planned to delay getting their Social Security benefits as long as they could so the payments could be maximized per month.
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