MainStay Investments released a report recently which shows that more and more, American citizens are postponing retirement in order to maintain lifestyles which include little luxuries.

The company surveyed more than five hundred financial advisors – professionals who deal with everything from life insurance policies to general accounting – 61 percent of whom said that their clients are less concerned with retirement needs than they are with little luxuries like eating out, and being able to travel from time to time. These results point to a significant gap between fantasy and reality present in many American households. With the future of Social Security uncertain, health insurance premiums getting higher, and retirement funds still reeling from the economic crises of the last two years, MainStay feels that working families are wearing rose-colored glasses.

The general consensus is that there is a significant need for Americans to be better educated about the realities of retirement. According to various financial advisors, less than half of their clients truly comprehend the amount of money they need to save in order to retire in comfort. Further, they agree that there clients require guidance on the care and use of their nest eggs, in order to retire without wiping out their financial security.

Another point revealed by the survey was that more than half the clients of those advisors who participated have postponed their retirement, either because of stock market losses (46 percent) or health insurance and medical care costs (40 percent).

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Tags: life insurance, retirement