LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute: The Single Retiree Market Presents Major Opportunity for Advisors

The media often depicts retirement as a couple walking down a beach holding hands or sitting on a white beach chair watching wave’s crash down on the shore. For many American retirees, that is simply not a reality.

New LIMRA Secure Retirement (LIMRA SRI) data give insight into an often overlooked market: single pre-retirees and retirees. There are 7.6 million single pre-retiree and retiree households (aged 55 and over) with assets of $100,000 dollars or more. In total, the single pre-retiree and retiree market offers a $6 trillion opportunity.

Advisors should cater to this opportunity differently, as single retirees face their own set of unique set of challenges. These challenges require special attention in retirement planning as their investment preferences and goals may alter based on their situations.

LIMRA SRI data show that single retirees feel less confident than married retirees. Less than two thirds (64 percent) of single retirees are confident that they can live the lifestyle they want in retirement, compared with 71 percent of married ones.

Running out of savings in a long retirement is another major concern. Four in ten single retirees believe their savings won’t last if they live to age 90. Just over one third of married or partnered retirees feel the same way. Just 57 percent of single retirees feel their retirement lifestyle is how they pictured it, compared with nearly 7 in 10 married retirees.

Advisors must develop a plan to approach and reach the single pre-retiree and retiree market. Only 38 percent of single retiree households work with an advisor, but they have a unique set of needs, expectations and desires in their retirement years. Guidance from an experienced advisor can help them be more confident, properly prepared and more able to live their desired lifestyle.