With half of American households 'at risk,' National Retirement Planning Week is an opportunity to evaluate retirement readiness
Nationwide Financial encourages Americans to get their R-Score®
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2010
Contact:
Erica Lewis (704) 869-5652
lewise6@nationwide.com
Jeff Whetzel (614) 249-6354
whetzej@nationwide.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a recent survey from Nationwide, 25 percent of Americans admitted they do not spend any time on saving and investment-related activities1. When you consider that 51 percent of households are “at risk” of not being able to maintain their current standard of living in retirement2, it’s clear that more work needs to be done to raise awareness about the importance of planning for retirement. To help accomplish this goal, Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. is supporting National Retirement Planning Week from April 12-15, sponsored by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI).
During the week, Nationwide is encouraging Americans to use its free online tool, RetirAbility Check®, to find out how prepared they are for retirement and learn more about how they can improve their situation. RetirAbility Check® enables users to generate a single number – their R-Score® – that measures their retirement readiness.
“No matter how far away you are from retirement, the thought of developing a sound retirement strategy can seem like a daunting task,” said Brad Davis, vice president of retirement income solutions for Nationwide Financial Services. “Like every journey, the road to retirement readiness starts with a single step. In this case, that step is an honest assessment of your current financial situation.”
According to Nationwide’s survey, some of the challenges facing today’s
workers are:
• 59 percent say they do not have an investment strategy in place
to manage retirement income
• 24 percent say they don’t know where to start when it comes to
planning for their financial future
• 60 percent do not have an employer sponsored retirement plan
Nationwide’s survey also found that 71 percent of Americans do not have a financial advisor, but many are clearly facing some unique challenges that might be difficult to tackle on their own.
“The retirement planning landscape is constantly changing and a
financial advisor can be an invaluable resource for those who need
additional help,” said John Carter, president of Nationwide Financial
Distributors. “National Retirement Planning Week is a good time to
consider working with an advisor to review your goals for retirement and
develop a financial strategy to help you get there.”
About the Survey
The national, online survey was conducted in December 2009 by the
Blackstone Group. A Web panel was used to collect national data for 1,202
respondents split into two sample groups. General Population, ages 18+
(n=601) and African American, ages 18+ (n=601). The survey has a margin
of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
About Nationwide
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest
diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the U.S.
and is rated A+ by A.M. Best. The company provides a full range of
personalized insurance and financial services, including auto insurance,
motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life insurance, farm, commercial insurance, administrative
services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings
plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit
www.nationwide.com.
About the Insured Retirement Institute
The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is a not-for-profit organization
and is the authoritative source of all things pertaining to annuities,
insured retirement strategies and retirement planning. IRI exists to
vigorously promote consumer confidence in the value and viability of
insured retirement strategies, bringing together the interests of the
industry, financial advisors and consumers under one umbrella. IRI’s
mission is to: encourage industry adherence to highest ethical
principles; promote better understanding of the insured retirement value
proposition; develop and promote best practice standards to improve value
delivery; and to advocate before public policy makers on critical issues
affecting insured retirement strategies. Visit www.IRIonline.org to
experience the new, vast resources of the new Insured Retirement
Institute for yourself.
Nationwide, Nationwide Financial, the Nationwide framemark, Nationwide YourLife and On Your Side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
John Carter and Brad Davis are registered representatives of Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation
The Insured Retirement Institute is not related to, or affiliated with, Nationwide or any of its affiliates.
Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal. Investment strategiesdo not guarantee or protect against a loss in a declining market. Investment strategies offering the potential for higher rates of return also involve a higher degree of risk to principal.
1 Nationwide Insurance Economic Opinion Poll, 2010
2 National Retirement Risk Index, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 2009
