No Result
View All Result
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES
  • Login
Thursday, October 30, 2025
TheAdviserMagazine.com
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
No Result
View All Result
TheAdviserMagazine.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Financial Planning

TIAA Institute: Older Americans lag in retirement fluency

by TheAdviserMagazine
5 months ago
in Financial Planning
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
TIAA Institute: Older Americans lag in retirement fluency
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LInkedIn


Most Americans intend to retire eventually, but few have the knowledge to address the major challenges that often trouble retirees, according to a new survey from the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center.

The study, which surveyed more than 3,300 Americans, found that the average U.S. adult couldn’t answer a majority of retirement-related questions. Survey respondents were asked six questions in total, ranging in topic from long-term care needs to lifetime income.

On average, respondents answered just 2.2 questions correctly, or 37% of the questions. Fifteen percent of adults surveyed couldn’t answer a single question correctly.

READ MORE: For Gen Z, retirement feels out of reach. Can advisors bring it closer?

Interested in seeing the survey for yourself? Take the quiz below to see how you stack up against the average American.

quiz visualization

An opportunity to educate

Financial advisors say that lack of knowledge can create problems for Americans looking to retire. But it also presents an opportunity for planners in the wealth management industry.

“What I think a planner should do is really focus on education and making sure the client understands things,” said Charles “Chuck” Failla, the founder of Sovereign Financial Group in Stamford, Connecticut. “My job is not to say ‘Here is the absolute right thing to do,’ because it’s rarely that clear. But instead, it’s to say, ‘Here’s option A and B, or maybe C, and here’s the pros and cons of each one of those.’ And if I do my job correctly, then the client, even without decades of financial experience like I have, should be able to make the decision. … And that only comes with education.”

READ MORE: Ask an Advisor: Is my Social Security strategy outdated?

Educating a client on the different options available to them is a crucial part of the job for Failla, but he said that he also doesn’t expect clients to become experts themselves.

“I could become an expert on drywall, but I have no interest in that, so I hire people. Like, that’s not what I want to learn,” Failla said. “It’s all learnable stuff. But you have to understand, if someone’s coming to your office, by definition, they’re not … as financially literate as you are.”

Even for people who would prefer to pay someone to handle their financial planning, Failla said that educating a client on the “why” behind certain decisions and behaviors is crucial to ensuring they stick to the plan.

“What type of discipline will that client have if they don’t understand why they’re doing it, right?” he said. “Education kind of helps them do the right thing, which is, stay the course.”

Addressing the biggest blind spots

In the survey, roughly three-quarters of respondents couldn’t correctly answer questions about long-term care costs and Medicare coverage. Those numbers aren’t promising, but they might be improving among older Americans. 

“I think we’re seeing a much higher acceptance level of people understanding that they’re going to need care. And like anything, it’s driven by experience,” said Byrke Sestok, a financial advisor at MONECO Advisors in Fairfield, Connecticut. “More and more people that are in their 40s, 50s, 60s, have now been in the position of having to care for an elderly person in their family … and now they’re going, ‘Well, I know that happened with Mom and Dad, so it’s definitely going to happen to me, right?’ So, the denial I find is leaving as our generations get older because people are living it.”

Still, clients can understand the importance of preparing for something like long-term care needs, but that doesn’t mean they’re equipped with the information to actually do it. That’s where advisors come in, Failla said.

“I give them the options, and this is an A, B or C option. So, pay for it yourself, pay for it with insurance or let the state pay for it on Medicaid,” he said. “And there’s, of course, pros and cons to each one of those, right? And we walk them through that to the point they can make their own decision.”

READ MORE: The 10 cities where retirees receive the highest income

Navigating those options can become complicated, especially for clients who aren’t in an ideal financial situation, Sestok said.

“If you are not in, like, the total green zone, and you’re in that yellow zone where you’re probably going to have long-term care costs, but you’re probably not going to be able to foot the whole bill, then I think there’s a real and honest conversation about, ‘How do we implement long-term care insurance within your financial situation?'” he said. “It’s always better to have some insurance than zero.”

Clients can certainly benefit by learning more about the options available to them when it comes to something like long-term care, but few people are equipped to effectively make those related financial decisions on their own, Sestok said.

“Retirement in general and long-term care specifically, I don’t think it’s a topic that people should try to assess themselves, unless they really have taken the time to learn a lot about the topic,” he said. “They should consult a professional.”



Source link

Tags: AmericansFluencyInstitutelagOlderretirementTIAA
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Building a multifamily office’s tech: Show Me Your Stack

Next Post

Valla raises $2.7M to make legal recourse more accessible to employees

Related Posts

edit post
Commonwealth advisors leave for Cetera, Osaic, Raymond James

Commonwealth advisors leave for Cetera, Osaic, Raymond James

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 30, 2025
0

Commonwealth Financial Network advisors keep voting with their feet, moving to firms like Cetera, Osaic and Raymond James rather than...

edit post
How advisors are using AI tools for prospecting and growth

How advisors are using AI tools for prospecting and growth

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 30, 2025
0

As Michael Kitces pointed out in his opening fireside chat at Financial Planning's ADVISE AI 2025 this week in Las...

edit post
How to keep your AI use from violating industry rules

How to keep your AI use from violating industry rules

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

Advisors using AI could take a big step toward regulatory compliance if they began every query proposed to ChatGPT or...

edit post
Inside the New AmEx Centurion Lounge in SLC

Inside the New AmEx Centurion Lounge in SLC

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

American Express just opened a new Centurion Lounge at Salt Lake City International Airport on Oct. 28, 2025. Located in...

edit post
AI investment risks beg for diversification

AI investment risks beg for diversification

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

The largest stocks' artificial intelligence correlation and concentration are fueling the risk that the technology firms investing in chips and...

edit post
UBS reports .6B outflows amid advisor exits

UBS reports $8.6B outflows amid advisor exits

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

UBS' Americas wealth management arm saw an $8.6 billion exodus of client assets in the third quarter, a stark reversal...

Next Post
edit post
Valla raises .7M to make legal recourse more accessible to employees

Valla raises $2.7M to make legal recourse more accessible to employees

edit post
Robinhood Completes Bitstamp Purchase

Robinhood Completes Bitstamp Purchase

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
edit post
77-year-old popular furniture retailer closes store locations

77-year-old popular furniture retailer closes store locations

October 18, 2025
edit post
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Rejects Update to Child Custody Laws

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Rejects Update to Child Custody Laws

October 7, 2025
edit post
What to Do When a Loved One Dies in North Carolina

What to Do When a Loved One Dies in North Carolina

October 8, 2025
edit post
Another Violent Outburst – Democrats Inciting Civil Unrest

Another Violent Outburst – Democrats Inciting Civil Unrest

October 24, 2025
edit post
Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets: What’s the Difference?

Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets: What’s the Difference?

October 17, 2025
edit post
California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In 2M Ponzi Scheme

California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In $912M Ponzi Scheme

October 15, 2025
edit post
High Dividend 50: Timbercreek Financial Corp.

High Dividend 50: Timbercreek Financial Corp.

0
edit post
Sudan War: Gold, a Key Port, and Two Armies With No Legitimate Claim

Sudan War: Gold, a Key Port, and Two Armies With No Legitimate Claim

0
edit post
Michael Saylor’s Strategy returns to profitability in third quarter

Michael Saylor’s Strategy returns to profitability in third quarter

0
edit post
XRP Could Drive the ‘Biggest Economic Shift’ in Decades: Crypto Expert

XRP Could Drive the ‘Biggest Economic Shift’ in Decades: Crypto Expert

0
edit post
8 Medigap “Gaps” You Only Notice After a Hospital Transfer

8 Medigap “Gaps” You Only Notice After a Hospital Transfer

0
edit post
This biotech stock has jumped nearly 50% in 3 months. Its CEO says business is ‘growing substantially’

This biotech stock has jumped nearly 50% in 3 months. Its CEO says business is ‘growing substantially’

0
edit post
XRP Could Drive the ‘Biggest Economic Shift’ in Decades: Crypto Expert

XRP Could Drive the ‘Biggest Economic Shift’ in Decades: Crypto Expert

October 30, 2025
edit post
Commonwealth advisors leave for Cetera, Osaic, Raymond James

Commonwealth advisors leave for Cetera, Osaic, Raymond James

October 30, 2025
edit post
8 Medigap “Gaps” You Only Notice After a Hospital Transfer

8 Medigap “Gaps” You Only Notice After a Hospital Transfer

October 30, 2025
edit post
Michael Saylor’s Strategy returns to profitability in third quarter

Michael Saylor’s Strategy returns to profitability in third quarter

October 30, 2025
edit post
Ava Labs Transfers BTC.b Infrastructure to Lombard for Multi-Chain Use

Ava Labs Transfers BTC.b Infrastructure to Lombard for Multi-Chain Use

October 30, 2025
edit post
6 Reasons There Are So Many Tiny Homes For Sale

6 Reasons There Are So Many Tiny Homes For Sale

October 30, 2025
The Adviser Magazine

The first and only national digital and print magazine that connects individuals, families, and businesses to Fee-Only financial advisers, accountants, attorneys and college guidance counselors.

CATEGORIES

  • 401k Plans
  • Business
  • College
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Economy
  • Estate Plans
  • Financial Planning
  • Investing
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Legal
  • Market Analysis
  • Markets
  • Medicare
  • Money
  • Personal Finance
  • Social Security
  • Startups
  • Stock Market
  • Trading

LATEST UPDATES

  • XRP Could Drive the ‘Biggest Economic Shift’ in Decades: Crypto Expert
  • Commonwealth advisors leave for Cetera, Osaic, Raymond James
  • 8 Medigap “Gaps” You Only Notice After a Hospital Transfer
  • Our Great Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use, Legal Notices & Disclosures
  • Contact us
  • About Us

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.