Retirees across the board are unwilling to spend down their personal assets. Instead, they prefer to maintain their nest eggs throughout retirement in case of unexpected needs. Getty Images
Retirees across the board are unwilling to spend down their personal assets. Instead, they prefer to maintain their nest eggs throughout retirement in case of unexpected needs. Getty Images
Retirees across the board are unwilling to spend down their personal assets. Instead, they prefer to maintain their nest eggs throughout retirement in case of unexpected needs. Getty Images
Guaranteed sources of income, low debt, a clear spend-down strategy and employer-sponsored retirement help are key drivers of retirement satisfaction and security, according to a new study
Retirees can be classified into five profiles – affluent, comfortable, average, just getting by or struggling – based on their financial status and spending behaviour, the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Retirement Security Research Centre's study found.
The research institute, based in Washington, polled 2,000 retired US households aged 62 to 75 years old with less than $1 million in financial assets in September 2020.
Global pension systems were already under pressure because of ageing populations, near-zero interest rates and their impact on returns even before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the OECD Pensions Outlook 2020report.
Average retirees accounted for 28 per cent of total survey respondents in the EBRI study, comfortable retirees made up 22 per cent, affluent ones (19 per cent), struggling retirees (18 per cent) and those just getting by (12 per cent).
Affluent retirees, who own financial assets worth more than $320,000 and have an annual income above $100,000, have diverse sources of retirement income, such as defined benefit pension plans and personal savings, the research said. This group is mostly mortgage-free with no credit card and car loan debts.
The majority of affluent retirees reported that their standard of living either had not changed or had improved since they retired. They were the most satisfied with their retirement life of all the groups, according to the study.
Comfortable retirees, on the other hand, own assets worth between $99,000 and $320,000 and earn $40,000 to $100,000 in annual income, the EBRI research found. They had easily manageable debt and were more likely to say their retirement savings are sufficient or even above their needs and planned to grow, maintain or spend only a small portion of their financial assets in retirement.
Meanwhile, average retirees own financial assets valued at less than $99,000 and earn a yearly income of between $40,000 and $100,000. The majority of respondents in this group rely on defined benefit pension plan incomes along with social security for their retirement income.
Nearly half of all average retirees had credit card debt and almost as many had a car loan, the study found.
“Retirees categorised as affluent, comfortable or even average were found to be more likely to have a guaranteed stream from pension plans compared with struggling or just getting by retirees,” the EBRI said in the study.
The absence of access to lifetime income through a defined benefit plan plays a critical role in retiree outcomes
Employee Benefit Research Institute
“The absence of access to lifetime income through a defined benefit plan plays a critical role in retiree outcomes. This suggests employers should think carefully about how they can help participants translate their pool of defined contribution money into a pension-like experience,” the research added.
At the other end of the spectrum, just getting by retirees have low levels of financial assets and income, but more than half of them own mortgage-free houses. The majority reported no debt or easily manageable debt. However, social security is a major source of their retirement income.
Struggling retirees have low levels of financial assets (less than or equal to $99,000) and income (less than $40,000 annually), according to the research. They were more likely to rent rather than own their homes and have unmanageable debt, such as credit card and medical debts.
These retirees rated their health status the worst out of all groups and said they relied on social security to provide the bulk of their retirement income.
“The debt dimension appeared to be a key contributor to struggling retirees’ lack of satisfaction, anxiety and poor standard of living,” the research said.
“Some of those households must have wished to work longer than they did to pay down their debt, but they were likely to be prevented from doing so due to their health or other issues that were out of their control. For instance, just getting by retirees scored their retirement satisfaction considerably higher than struggling retirees, and a key difference between the two was that the former were far more likely to have paid off their home,” the EBRI said.
The study also found that retirees across the board were unwilling to spend down their personal assets. Instead, they prefer to maintain their nest eggs throughout retirement in case of unexpected needs, such as assisted living expenses, the research said.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr Started: 2019 Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr Sector: FinTech Headquarters: Egypt UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Current number of staff: More than 150 Funds raised: $22 million
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
