About the survey
• In Summer 2012, the companies of OneAmerica
surveyed visitors to its participant website to determine
– how they learned about finances and prepared for
retirement
– what resources are most effective
– how confident they are with their retirement preparations
• 6,360 participants responded to the online survey
• OneAmerica plans to replicate the survey in coming
years to gauge progress in helping participants
prepare for retirement
Respondent Profile
• All Respondents = 6360
• Male = 3448
• Female = 2882
• Age 20-30 = 993
• Age 30-40 = 1646
• Age 40-50 = 1591
• Age 50 or more = 2109
Who taught you about finances?
56%
20%
8%
12%
38%
Your parents
A teacher in
school
Another family
member
Who taught you about finances?
Your parents A teacher in school
Another family
member Your spouse Books
Male 56% 21% 8% 7% 46%
Female 57% 18% 8% 18% 29%
Significantly more men are taught finances by a teacher or books, while more women are taught by their spouses
Your parents A teacher in school
Another family
member Your spouse Books
20-30 years old 71% 27% 10% 9% 31%
30-40 years old 60% 21% 8% 11% 36%
40-50 years old 55% 18% 9% 11% 39%
Over 50 years old 47% 16% 7% 15% 43%
Younger respondents were more likely to be taught about finances by their parents or a teacher at school, while older respondents were more likely to learn from books.
What resources do you find most helpful with
retirement preparation?
52%
55%
41%
28%
17%
14%
Calculators
Articles
Interactive
charts
What areas of retirement preparation do you feel you
need help with?
All Respondents
Overall investing/strategy/choices/risk assessment 23% Saving/budgeting/education planning/making more money 15%
Everything/anything 10%
Asset allocation/diversification/account management 7% Amount needed to retire/how much to save monthly 7%
Retirement plans/rollovers 5%
When to retire/where to retire/what to expect 2% Cash flow/distribution post-retirement/supplementing retirement income 2% Not sure/don’t know enough to know what to need help with 2%
Taxes 1%
Health insurance/medical expenses/LTC 1% Projecting/future market analysis/forecasting 1% Making up for lost time/retiring faster 1%
Wills/estate planning/living trusts 1%
What areas of retirement preparation do you feel you
need help with?
(By Gender)
Male Female
Overall investing/strategy/choices/risk assessment 23% 24% Saving/budgeting/education planning/making more money 13% 17%
Everything/anything 8% 12%
Asset allocation/diversification/account management 7% 6% Amount needed to retire/how much to save monthly 6% 8%
Retirement plans/rollovers 5% 4%
When to retire/where to retire/what to expect 2% 3% Cash flow/distribution post-retirement/supplementing retirement income 2% 2% Not sure/don’t know enough to know what to need help with 1% 2%
Taxes 2% N/A
Health insurance/medical expenses/LTC 2% N/A Projecting/future market analysis/forecasting 1% N/A
Wills/estate planning/living trusts 1% N/A
Nothing 24% 20%
What areas of retirement preparation do you feel you
need help with?
(By Age)
20-30 30-40 40-50 50+
Overall investing/strategy/choices/risk assessment 29% 24% 23% 21% Saving/budgeting/education planning/making more money 14% 17% 17% 12%
Everything/anything 13% 12% 10% 6%
Asset allocation/diversification/account management 9% 7% 8% 6% Amount needed to retire/how much to save monthly 7% 8% 6% 6%
Retirement plans/rollovers 8% 6% 5% 3%
When to retire/where to retire/what to expect N/A N/A 2% 4% Cash flow/distribution post-retirement/supplementing retirement income N/A N/A N/A 5% Not sure/don’t know enough to know what to need help with N/A 2% 2% 1%
Taxes N/A 2% 2% N/A
Health insurance/medical expenses/LTC N/A N/A N/A 2%
Nothing 16% 20% 21% 29%
What resources do you find most helpful with
retirement preparation?
Calculators Articles Interactive charts Tutorials Videos Mobile Apps
Male 53% 59% 41% 27% 17% 15%
Female 51% 51% 40% 30% 16% 13%
Significantly more men find articles and mobile apps most helpful with retirement preparation, while women find tutorials helpful.
Calculators Articles Interactive charts Tutorials Videos Mobile Apps
20-30 years old 61% 45% 56% 33% 21% 24%
30-40 years old 61% 48% 47% 28% 17% 20%
40-50 years old 51% 56% 39% 31% 17% 12%
Over 50 years old 41% 67% 29% 25% 15% 7%
Younger respondents were more likely to find calculators, interactive charts, tutorials, videos and mobile apps helpful with retirement preparation, while older respondents find articles most helpful.
Where do you read most about financial issues?
10%
14%
79%
18%
20%
Where do you read most about financial issues?
Blogs OneAmerica.com Websites Social Media Books
Male 53% 59% 41% 27% 17%
Female 51% 51% 40% 30% 16%
Significantly more men than women read about financial issues on OneAmerica.com than women, while more women than men read about financial issues via social media.
Blogs OneAmerica.com Websites Social Media Books
20-30 years old 20% 14% 79% 28% 19%
30-40 years old 13% 14% 81% 20% 17%
40-50 years old 9% 15% 79% 16% 19%
Over 50 years old 5% 15% 78% 13% 24%
Younger respondents are more likely to read about financial issues via blogs and social media, while older respondents read about financial issues mainly in books.
How educated do you think you are when it comes
to retirement preparation?
1-3
21%4-6
42%7-8
30%9-10
7%On a scale of 1-10,
1=Not at all knowledgeable and 10=Very knowledgeable
How educated do you think you are when it comes to
retirement preparation?
Not at all knowledgeable-3 4-6 7-8 9-Very knowledgeable Average
Male 15% 39% 38% 8% 5.97
Female 28% 44% 23% 5% 5.02
Significantly more men than women feel they are knowledgeable when it comes to retirement preparation.
Not at all knowledgeable-3 4-6 7-8 9-Very knowledgeable Average
20-30 years old 30% 44% 22% 4% 4.92
30-40 years old 24% 45% 26% 5% 5.27
40-50 years old 22% 42% 31% 5% 5.49
Over 50 years old 14% 38% 39% 9% 6.08
Significantly more respondents over 50 feel they are knowledgeable when it comes to retirement preparation than younger respondents, while those between the ages of 30 and 50 feel they are more knowledgeable than those 20-30 years old.
How confident are you that you will be able to retire
and maintain your current lifestyle?
Very confident/ Confident 40% Not sure 40% Not confident/ Completely doubtful 20%
How confident are you that you will be able to retire
and maintain your current lifestyle?
Completely doubtful Not confident Not sure Confident Very confident
Male 4% 14% 36% 37% 9%
Female 6% 18% 44% 28% 5%
Men were significantly more likely to report being confident or very confident about being able to maintain their current lifestyle after retirement than women.
Completely doubtful Not confident Not sure Confident Very confident
20-30 years old 3% 10% 43% 34% 10%
30-40 years old 4% 14% 44% 31% 6%
40-50 years old 5% 20% 40% 30% 5%
Over 50 years old 5% 15% 35% 37% 9%
The youngest and oldest respondents were significantly more likely to report being confident or very confident About being able to maintain their current lifestyle after retirement than other respondents.
