Transcript
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Forward Focus Episode 8: A financial checkup, one year later
Hi, I'm Roger Ferguson, President and CEO of TIAA.
It's been a year now since the first COVID-19 cases were identified here in the United States, and the impact on healthcare institutions and their workers has been noticeable.
While much attention has been paid to the mental and emotional toll on our frontline workers, the financial toll has also been severe.
Research by our TIAA Institute found that the pandemic has weakened healthcare workers retirement readiness and overall financial wellbeing. 38% have become less confident that they will have enough money to comfortably retire, and 46% report that their overall financial condition has gotten worse.
There has been a noticeable impact of COVID-19 on higher-ed workers as well. For example, 25% of full-time senior faculty - that's tenured faculty 50 and older - now expect to retire at an older age than they did before the onset of COVID-19.
Financial issues created or exacerbated by COVID-19 most likely underlie this most recent increase in expected retirement age.
There are a number of ways that workers in the healthcare and higher-ed sectors, even in these challenging times, can seek to improve their financial outlook. For example, a low-cost annuity could well address many of the concerns of healthcare workers when it comes to managing their finances during retirement. Nonetheless, only 22% of healthcare workers and 35% of higher-ed workers currently intend or say they will annuitize any of their retirement savings.
Among senior faculty in the higher-ed sector, who now expect to retire later, it is likely that in some cases individuals assume, rather than know, that they can no longer afford to retire when they had originally planned.
Getting professional advice could help individuals see if their assumptions are right. They may decide with further advice that they can retire when they'd like to, or maybe sooner than they expect with more information.
These findings reinforce one important fact, and that is the need for greater education around financial wellness and ways to work toward security in retirement.
[END]
DISCLOSURES: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 5, 2020
TIAA Institute, 2020 Healthcare Sector Financial Wellness Survey, October 2020
TIAA Institute, upcoming research report on the 2020 Higher Ed Financial Wellness Survey
This material is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute fiduciary investment advice under ERISA, a securities recommendation under all securities laws, or an insurance product recommendation under state insurance laws or regulations. This material does not take into account any specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Investment decisions should be made based on the investor’s own objectives and circumstances.
The views expressed in this material may change in response to changing economic and market conditions.
Annuities are designed for retirement and other long-term goals. They offer several payment options, including lifetime income. Any guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuer.
Investment, insurance and annuity products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, are not deposits, are not insured by any federal government agency, are not a condition to any banking service or activity, and may lose value.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA, distributes securities products. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations.
©2021 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
1497030
Hi, I'm Roger Ferguson, President and CEO of TIAA.
It's been a year now since the first COVID-19 cases were identified here in the United States, and the impact on healthcare institutions and their workers has been noticeable.
While much attention has been paid to the mental and emotional toll on our frontline workers, the financial toll has also been severe.
Research by our TIAA Institute found that the pandemic has weakened healthcare workers retirement readiness and overall financial wellbeing. 38% have become less confident that they will have enough money to comfortably retire, and 46% report that their overall financial condition has gotten worse.
There has been a noticeable impact of COVID-19 on higher-ed workers as well. For example, 25% of full-time senior faculty - that's tenured faculty 50 and older - now expect to retire at an older age than they did before the onset of COVID-19.
Financial issues created or exacerbated by COVID-19 most likely underlie this most recent increase in expected retirement age.
There are a number of ways that workers in the healthcare and higher-ed sectors, even in these challenging times, can seek to improve their financial outlook. For example, a low-cost annuity could well address many of the concerns of healthcare workers when it comes to managing their finances during retirement. Nonetheless, only 22% of healthcare workers and 35% of higher-ed workers currently intend or say they will annuitize any of their retirement savings.
Among senior faculty in the higher-ed sector, who now expect to retire later, it is likely that in some cases individuals assume, rather than know, that they can no longer afford to retire when they had originally planned.
Getting professional advice could help individuals see if their assumptions are right. They may decide with further advice that they can retire when they'd like to, or maybe sooner than they expect with more information.
These findings reinforce one important fact, and that is the need for greater education around financial wellness and ways to work toward security in retirement.
[END]
DISCLOSURES: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 5, 2020
TIAA Institute, 2020 Healthcare Sector Financial Wellness Survey, October 2020
TIAA Institute, upcoming research report on the 2020 Higher Ed Financial Wellness Survey
This material is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute fiduciary investment advice under ERISA, a securities recommendation under all securities laws, or an insurance product recommendation under state insurance laws or regulations. This material does not take into account any specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Investment decisions should be made based on the investor’s own objectives and circumstances.
The views expressed in this material may change in response to changing economic and market conditions.
Annuities are designed for retirement and other long-term goals. They offer several payment options, including lifetime income. Any guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuer.
Investment, insurance and annuity products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, are not deposits, are not insured by any federal government agency, are not a condition to any banking service or activity, and may lose value.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA, distributes securities products. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations.
©2021 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
1497030