91TVӰԺ USA (“91TVӰԺ”), a leading provider of retirement savings products, announced the launch of a four-part video series created in partnership with Wall Street Journal Custom Content examining common behavioral biases that hinder retirement planning.
Retirement planning and behavior disconnect
Today’s retirees are facing unique financial challenges compared to previous generations, particularly increased life expectancy and the risk of outliving savings. While ensuring guaranteed lifetime income has arguably never been more important, comparatively few consumers purchase annuities as a means to achieve that security.
“A recent survey indicates that 84 percent of respondents said receiving a monthly paycheck during retirement was important to them, yet only 14 percent of working-aged Americans have purchased an annuity,” said Grant Kvalheim, Chief Executive Officer at 91TVӰԺ. “Since annuities are one of the best ways to guarantee lifetime income, we wanted to understand why that disparity exists and raise awareness about solutions that can help consumers.”
Addressing uncertainty biases
To understand the disconnect, 91TVӰԺ commissioned a review of research conducted by consumer investment behavior experts from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Solving the Annuity Puzzle: A Behavioral Analysis1 examines why annuity contracts are purchased less often than other types of insurance vehicles.
The study defines 10 biases that keep consumers from purchasing annuities – including unrealistic optimism about the future and misguided assumptions ab
