Marketing Financial Services to Baby Boomer Retirees - US

This report will help marketers develop communications to resonate with different segments of Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers face unique challenges and opportunities as a result of changes in technology, workplace policies, economic conditions, healthcare, and public policy. These changes affect subgroups of the generation in different ways, depending on economic situation, lifestyle and attitudes.

Understanding the impact of these changes, and how segments of Baby Boomers approach diverse situations, will help financial services firms target products and services. An in-depth examination of Baby Boomer attitudes about finances can also help you understand ways to help pre-retirees with their financial planning.

Thus, this report examines:

• Attitudes toward finance and different types of financial service providers
• What types of planning Boomers have undertaken
• Which Boomers are most likely to have done some planning, and what barriers inhibit some from doing so
• Current ownership of financial products

Scope and Themes

What you need to know

Methodology

Abbreviations and terms

Abbreviations

Terms

Executive Summary

Attitudes toward financial services

Retirement

Retirement planning

Barriers to retirement planning/savings

How well prepared are Baby Boomers for retirement?

Sub-group differences

Usage of financial products and services

Consumer Profiles Used Throughout the Report

Demographics

Psychographic cohort segments

General Attitudes Towards Financial Services

Selecting financial service providers

Figure 1: Opinions about shopping for financial services, by gender, January-October 2006

Figure 2: Opinions about shopping for financial services, by age, January-October 2006

Figure 3: Opinions about shopping for financial services, by Baby Boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Attention to financial services media

Figure 4: Opinions about financial services media, by gender, January-October 2006

Figure 5: Opinions about financial services media, by age, January-October 2006

Figure 6: Opinions about financial services media, by Baby Boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Attitudes toward risk

Figure 7: Agreement with: “investing in the stock market is too risky”, by age, gender, demographic segment, and household income, January-October 2006

Retirement Expectations

Expected retirement age

Figure 8: Age individuals plan to retire, by age group, September 2007

Figure 9: Age plan to retire, by income, September 2007

Figure 10: Age plan to retire, by gender, September 2007

Expected sources of income in retirement

Figure 11: Whether expect to receive a pension, by age, September 2007

Figure 12: Whether expect to receive a pension, by gender, September 2007

Figure 13: Whether expect to receive a pension, by household income, September 2007

Expected retirement residence

Figure 14: Whether expect to move/sell house when retired, by age, September 2007

Figure 15: Whether expect to move/sell house when retire, by household income, September 2007

Retirement Planning and Barriers to Planning

Retirement planning

Figure 16: Types of financial planning done, by gender, September 2007

Figure 17: Types of financial planning done, by age, September 2007

Figure 18: Types of financial planning done, by household income, September 2007

Figure 19: Types of financial planning done, by education, September 2007

Barriers to retirement savings and planning

Conflicting priorities

Figure 20: Agreement with: “I am not focusing on my retirement because i have other financial concerns at the moment”, by age, gender, presence of children, and household income, September 2007

Figure 21: Agreement with: “It is too difficult to make financial goals because life is so unpredictable”, by age, gender, and presence of children, and household income, September 2007

Lack of financial literacy

Figure 22: Opinions of financial literacy, by household income, January-October 2006

Gender and financial literacy

Figure 23: Opinions of financial literacy, by gender, January-October 2006

Figure 24: Person in household who primarily makes the decisions as to how retirement savings should be invested, by gender and marital status, September 2007

Financial literacy, by Baby Boomer cohort

Figure 25: Agreement with: “I know nothing about finances/investment”, by Baby Boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Figure 26: Agreement with: “I know nothing about finances/investment”, by demographic segment and gender, January-October 2006

Attitudes toward savings

Figure 27: Opinions about savings versus spending, by gender, January-October 2006

Figure 28: Opinions about savings versus spending, by baby Boomer cohort, January-October 2006

How Well Prepared are Baby Boomers for Retirement?

Challenges facing Baby Boomers

Feelings of financial security

Figure 29: Agreement with: “I feel secure financially”, by household income, January-October 2006

Figure 30: Agreement with: “I feel secure financially”, by age, January-October 2006

Figure 31: Agreement with: “I feel secure financially”, by Baby Boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Confidence in having enough money to retire

Figure 32: Agreement with: “I feel confident that I will have enough money when I retire”, September 2007

Perceptions of individual responsibility for retirement

Figure 33: Agreement with: “financial security for retirement is an individual responsibility”, by age, January-October 2006

Figure 34: Agreement with: “financial security for retirement is an individual responsibility”, by household income, January-October 2006

Figure 35: Agreement with: “financial security for retirement is an individual responsibility”, by Baby Boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Feelings of individual control

Figure 36: Agreement with: “I have control over my own financial future”, September 2007

Amount of retirement savings

Figure 37: Total invested in household’s retirement accounts (such as 401k, IRA, SEP, etc.) by age, September 2007

Figure 38: Total invested in household’s retirement accounts (such as 401k, IRA, SEP, etc.) by household income, September 2007

Figure 39: Total invested in household’s retirement accounts (such as 401k, IRA, SEP, etc.) by gender and marital status, September 2007

Figure 40: Total invested in household’s retirement accounts (such as 401k, IRA, SEP, etc.) by gender and marital status, for those who know their balance, September 2007

Usage of Banking Products and Services

Ownership of bank accounts

Figure 41: Banking accounts currently have, by household income, January-October 2006

Figure 42: Banking accounts currently have, by baby boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Figure 43: Banking accounts currently have, by gender and employment status, January-October 2006

Figure 44: Banking accounts currently have, by age, January-October 2006

Primary bank

Figure 45: Primary bank, by household income, January-October 2006

Figure 46: Primary bank, by baby boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Figure 47: Primary bank, by household income, January-October 2006

Usage of Investment Products and Services

Types of investment accounts owned

Figure 48: Investment types currently have, by household income, January-October 2006

Figure 49: Value of investment accounts currently have for those who have each type of account, January-October 2006

Figure 50: Investment types currently have, by baby boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Figure 51: Investment types currently have, by gender and employment status, January-October 2006

Figure 52: Investment types currently have, by baby boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Mutual fund companies

Figure 53: Mutual fund companies currently have, by household income, January-October 2006

Figure 54: Mutual fund companies currently have, by age, January-October 2006

Few gender differences emerge in mutual fund companies used

Figure 55: Mutual fund companies currently have, by age, January-October 2006

Figure 56: Mutual fund companies currently have, by baby boomer cohort, January-October 2006

Types of firms trusted

Figure 57: Types of firms trusted to give good retirement planning advice, by gender, September 2007

Figure 58: Types of firms trusted to give good retirement planning advice, by annual household income, September 2007

Figure 59: Types of firms trusted to give good retirement planning advice, by region, September 2007

Marketing to Baby Boomers

For every product, there is likely to be a large Baby Boomer niche

Financial services marketers

Advertising approaches

Figure 60: Geico print advertisement, 2007

Figure 61: Ameriprise print advertisement, 2007

Figure 62: Fidelity.com/Pete retirement planning print advertisement, 2007

Figure 63: Prudential print advertisement, 2007

Profile of Retired Versus Employed Baby Boomers

Figure 64: Agreement with opinions by employment status, January-October 2006

Appendix: General Attitudes by Age

Figure 65: Attitudes towards financial services, all respondents by age, January-October 2006