Retirement Savings a Key Concern for Americans, AICPA Survey of CPA Financial Planners...

Retirement Savings a Key Concern for Americans, AICPA Survey of CPA Financial
Planners Shows
Life Decisions in Limbo Because of Finances

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Having enough money to retire and pay
for major life needs -- healthcare and education -- are top concerns of
Americans facing financial pressures, according to CPA financial planners
surveyed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
In responding to an open-ended question, nine out of 10 CPAs surveyed said
their individual clients were concerned about retirement. Costs associated
with health care and education were ranked by respondents as the second (59
percent) and third (47 percent) financial concerns of clients.
"Many Baby Boomers are discovering their retirement kitty is not as big as
it needs to be to fund a comfortable retirement and that they are going to
have to work longer than they had intended," said James Metzler, AICPA vice
president.
The results of the poll were released today at the AICPA's 2008 Advanced
Personal Financial Planning Technical Conference in Las Vegas.
Respondents included CPAs who hold the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
credential, which the AICPA offers exclusively to CPAs who are committed to
financial planning as a practice discipline and have demonstrated expertise in
a number of areas of financial planning.
For Some, Life Decisions on Hold
Nearly a third of the respondents (32 percent) reported that clients who
are approaching retirement age are postponing leaving the workforce for
financial reasons.
As many as one-third of CPAs with clients between the ages of 25-34 are
seeing individuals foregoing buying a home, having children and even saving
for retirement.
More Credit Card Debt
One third of the CPA planners said their clients were carrying more credit
card debt than they did five years ago, with excessive discretionary spending
pinpointed as the primary culprit. The median level of increased credit card
debt is $8,333.
"With so many people in debt because of unnecessary spending, Americans of
all ages need education and guidance about how to improve their financial
well-being," said Carl George, chair of the AICPA's National CPA Financial
Literacy Commission.
In 2004, the AICPA launched the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort,
which has a dedicated consumer website, www.360financialliteracy.org,
containing hundreds of tools and resources to help Americans improve their
financial understanding. A related campaign, Feed the Pig
(www.FeedthePig.org), is designed to help Americans aged 25-34 save for long-
term financial security.
Methodology
The survey was conducted in December via a questionnaire emailed to
members of the AICPA Financial Planning Membership Section. Of the 427
respondents, 44 percent manage more than $10 million in assets; 10 percent
manage $5 million to $10 million in assets; 21 percent have $1 million to $5
million in assets under management. Eight percent of respondents are managing
between $500,000 and $1 million, and 17 percent have less than $500,000 in
assets under management. The margin of error was plus-or-minus 4.5 percentage
points.
About the AICPA
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is
the national, professional association of CPAs, with more than 350,000
members, including CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government,
and education; student affiliates; and international associates. It sets
ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of
private companies; federal, state and local governments; and non-profit
organizations. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination.
The AICPA spearheads 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy
(www.360financialliteracy.org), a national public-education effort of the CPA
profession designed to improve the financial understanding of Americans at all
age levels. Feed the Pig, a related campaign, (www.feedthepig.org), co-
sponsored with the Ad Council, is designed to help Americans aged 25-34 save
for long-term financial security.
The AICPA maintains offices in New York, NY; Washington, DC; Durham, NC;
Ewing, NJ; and Lewisville, TX.
Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Online Media Center
at www.aicpa.org/mediacenter.

Personal Financial Planning Client Needs Survey Results

Survey conducted from December 5-23, 2007

Question 1) On average, what are your clients top three personal finance
concerns?

Retirement - 91%
Healthcare - 59%
Education - 47%
Aged Parents - 30%
Emergency Savings - 12%
Affording a Home - 11%
Estate Planning - 9%
Energy Costs - 8%
Credit Card Debt - 8%
Investments - 7%
Taxes - 3%
Other - 3%
Marriage - 2%
Having Children - 1%

2) Has the sub-prime mortgage issue affected your clients?

Yes - 27%
No - 64%
Don't Know - 9%

3) If "yes" to question 2: How has the sub-prime mortgage issue affected
your clients?

Rethinking Buying a Home - 55%
Difficulty Obtaining Credit - 35%
Investments - 29%
Facing Foreclosure - 20%
Lost Jobs / Business Slowdown - 10%
Other - 3%
Little or no Impact - 2%

4) What is your personal view of the effects of the sub-prime mortgage
issue?

Worst Coming - 48%
Worst Over - 30%
Other - 13%
No Opinion - 10%

5) Are your clients carrying more credit card debt than they did five
years ago?

No - 50%
Yes - 30%
Unknown - 21%

6) If "yes" to question 5: What are the primary reasons your clients are
carrying more credit card debt than they did five years ago?
(check all that apply)

Excessive Discretionary Spending - 81%
Basic Living Expenses - 40%
Healthcare Emergency - 14%
Job Loss - 12%
Other - 7%

7) If "yes" to question 5: On average, how much more debt are they
carrying?

$10,000 or more - 35%
$5,000 - to under $10,000 - 28%
$2,500 - to under $5,000 - 19%
Under $2,500 - 2%
Unknown - 17%

8) How are your clients with children in college paying the cost of
education? (check all that apply)

Clients Paying Directly - 83%
Children Applying for Financial Aid - 64%
Client's Tapping Their Investments - 64%
Children Obtaining Financial Aid - 56%
Client's Obtaining Private Loans - 47%
Children Working During College - 45%
Children Contributing to Cost - 41%
Other - 6%
No Clients Have Children - 3%

9) What will be the average post-graduation debt burden for those
children who have taken out student loans to pay for their education?

$100,000 or more - 5%
$50,000 - to under $100,000 - 19%
$20,000 - to under $50,000 - 37%
$10,000 - to under $20,000 - 12%
Under $10,000 - 6%
Unknown - 21%

10) Are your younger clients (age 25 to 34) postponing any of the
following activities because of financial considerations?
(check all that apply)

Home Purchase - 35%
Not Postponing Anything - 28%
Retirement - 24%
Having Children - 24%
No Clients in this Age Group - 17%
Marriage - 11%
Higher Education - 5%
Medical Procedure - 3%
Other - 2%

11) On average are your clients who are approaching retirement age:

On-track - 61%
Postponing for Financial Reasons - 32%
Other - 7%

12) What is your personal outlook for the U.S. economy over the next
12 months?

Very Optimistic - 1%
Optimistic - 30%
Neutral - 37%
Pessimistic - 29%
Very Pessimistic - 3%

13) Do you believe we are headed for a recession?

No - 52%
Yes - 37%
Unknown - 11%

14) What is the average amount of assets you currently have under
management?

$10 Million or more - 44%
$5 Million - to under $10 million - 10%
$1 Million - to under $5 Million - 21%
$500,000 - to under $1 Million - 8%
Under $500,000 - 17%

SOURCE The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Joel Allegretti of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,
+1-917-239-4356, jallegretti@aicpa.org