OREANDA-NEWS. June 11, 2015. Over three out of five (62 percent) Orange County respondents expect to be stressed about money in retirement based on how they are currently saving, according to a new survey released today by Bank of America and Merrill Edge. The latest Merrill Edge® Report reveals that while non-retirees are anticipating stress, the majority (70 percent) of retirees in the area are not stressed about finances in retirement based on how they saved.

Despite predicting stress, more than half (55 percent) of non-retired Orange County respondents believe they will have enough money in retirement due to how they are saving for it, while the vast majority of retired respondents (77 percent) report they will have enough money for the rest of retirement because of how they saved for it before they retired.

“Many Orange County residents expect that they will be stressed in retirement, even though many area retirees tell us that they feel good about their financial outlook,” said Nick Givogri, regional executive at Merrill Edge. “This could be due to the fact that 100 percent of retired Orange County respondents saved for retirement. Non-retired residents can reduce their anxiety about saving for the future by preparing a strategy and proactively saving and investing.”

Pursuing an ideal retirement without financial stress

Part of a biannual nationwide survey, the study explores opinions of Orange County residents with investable assets of \\$50,000 to \\$250,000 and finds that area respondents are nearly just as likely to prioritize saving more for the future (58 percent) as have enough money to live comfortably today (63 percent).

Nationally, the Merrill Edge Report finds most non-retired respondents agree that an ideal retirement is one that is not spent worrying about money (77 percent) and is overall stress-free (70 percent). Orange County respondents who have yet to reach retirement are taking actions to get there like today’s retirees, but could do more to emulate strategies that retired Americans employed to ensure that their golden years were less worrisome:

  • Today, the most popular actions that non-retired Orange County residents are taking to live a stress-free retirement are funding retirement accounts (59 percent) and paying off debt (56 percent). Contributing to a retirement account (45 percent) and paying off debt (41 percent) were also some of the most common measures that retirees took to reduce strain in retirement before reaching that stage.
  • However, nearly half (47 percent) of area retirees preemptively invested as much as they could outside of a retirement account to be stress-free when they did retire, and only 30 percent of non-retired area survey respondents are doing this with the same goal in mind.
  • Similarly, 40 percent of current retirees in Orange County worked with a financial advisor, while 31 percent of those who have not yet reached retirement are currently working with a financial advisor to reduce pre-retirement anxiety.

Financial fears lead to positive financial actions

According to the survey, while the majority of non-retired Orange County residents are actively investing for retirement, one in 10 would still be embarrassed if their close friends or family knew specifically their retirement savings (10 percent) or checking account balance (10 percent).

Along similar lines, 37 percent of national respondents feel that they lag behind their peers in terms of financial stability, saving for the future or current income. However, those shortfalls also appear to be a catalyst for better financial planning. Area retirees and non-retirees alike have felt motivated to make positive financial decisions by financial stress (20 percent) and by seeing the successes or failures of their parents (18 percent).