Clients Have Retirement Savings Plans. Withdrawal Plans? Not So Much

Turns out all that “save, save, save” advice isn’t much help when it’s finally time to spend, spend, spend.

Most Americans are flying blind when it comes to a 401(k) withdrawal strategy, according to a new survey from the TIAA Institute and Nuveen. While most have given at least a little consideration, only 22% said they thought about it “a lot.” And, nearly all those surveyed wanted more guidance from their employers on how to plan for their retirement income, but even that advice may be too generic. Helping clients craft a strategy to safely spend their retirement nest eggs can be an opportunity for advisors to differentiate themselves and help fill an important planning gap.

“The irony is, the law that created the 401(k) back in 1974 was called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Income security. Yet for 50 years, we’ve designed 401(k) plans almost exclusively as savings vehicles, with no built-in way to convert those savings into lifetime income,” said Brendan McCarthy, head of Nuveen Retirement Investing. “The system has done a good job coaching people to save, but a poorer job preparing them to spend.” 

Literacy Gap

While previous generations could cash their monthly pension checks and call it a day, withdrawal decisions for this generation of retirees are much more complicated, said Michael Lofley, a CFP at HBKS Wealth Advisors. Clients have to decide which accounts to draw from first, as well as figure out how Social Security, taxes and healthcare costs fit into the plan. Plus, many will have to balance those issues with the possibility of living 25 to 30 years in retirement. “Many retirees underestimate how interconnected those decisions are,” he said.

Most 401(k) holders aren’t equipped to answer these kinds of questions, according to the report:

• Participants only correctly answered about a third of questions about Social Security, Medicare and saving for retirement and about a quarter of long-term care and withdrawal questions.
• Some 44% underestimated average life expectancy, and 14% said they didn’t know. Only a third of workers surveyed answered the question correctly.

Playing the Long Game. Betting on an average life expectancy can be a trap that clients fall into, said Eric Diton, president and managing director of The Wealth Alliance, who added that his firm runs their analyses based on a life expectancy in the early to mid-90s. “Someone will say, ‘Oh, my parents died young,’” said Diton. “Your parents died in 1950. This is a different generation. Your parents didn’t know what cholesterol was.”