Orange County’s New Retirement: Not Retiring

The majority (75 percent) of today's Orange County labor force expects they will continue to work during retirement, whether for income, to keep busy or pursue a passion. In contrast, 64 percent of area retirees said they are not currently working or never have during their golden years.

The latest Merrill Edge® Report - a biannual survey of 1,000 mass affluent Americans, which oversampled 300 Orange County residents between September 24 and October 5, 2016 - reveals a twist in how today's younger generations will plan and save for their later years. Seventeen percent of Orange County area respondents believe they need to take on a side job to reach their retirement goals.

'As insecurity surrounding retirement savings continues to grow, undefined expectations impede long-term savings, causing many Orange County residents to have a difficult time prioritizing their later years,' said Nick Givogri, regional sales manager of Merrill Edge. 'While it's great that many residents are planning for additional income in retirement, it's important to set aside as much as possible today, taking advantage of compound interest and its significant impact over time.'

Growing uncertainty and insecurity around savings

In line with the national findings, the report also reveals many Orange County residents are unable to articulate their 'magic number' - the amount of money they need to live their desired retirement and those who can, are underestimating the amount.

When asked what their magic number for retirement is, 40 percent don't anticipate needing more than $1 million, and 21 percent simply 'don't know.' The majority of today's retirees (66 percent) said they did not have a number in mind before they retired.

What's more, 23 percent of respondents cite they need to win the lottery in order to reach their financial goals in retirement.

Increasing self-reliance with investment decisions

Despite this uncertainty, Orange County residents still prefer to rely on themselves for their investment approach (60 percent), and only 16 percent believe they need to hire a financial advisor in order to live the retirement they want.

When asked why they are saving for retirement, many area residents cite to afford daily life (65 percent) and take care of family (63 percent).

For more in-depth information about the financial behaviors and priorities of mass affluent Americans, read the full Fall 2016 Merrill Edge Report here. A complementing infographic is available here.

Merrill Edge Survey MethodologyBraun Research, Inc. conducted a nationally representative telephone survey on behalf of Merrill Edge. The survey was conducted from September 24, 2016 through October 5, 2016, and consisted of 1,045 mass affluent respondents throughout the U.S., defined as individuals with investable assets (value of all cash, savings, mutual funds, CDs, IRAs, stock, bonds and all other types of investments excluding primary home and other real estate investments). Respondents in the study were defined as aged 18 to 34 (millennials) with investable assets between $50,000 and $250,000 or those aged 18 to 34 who have investable assets between $20,000 and $50,000 with an annual income of at least $50,000; or aged 35-plus with investable assets between $50,000 and $250,000. We conducted an oversampling of 300 mass affluents in the following markets: San Francisco; Los Angeles; Orange County, California; Dallas; New Jersey; South Florida; Chicago; Atlanta; and Phoenix. The margin of error is +/- 3.0 percent for the national sample and about +/- 5.7 percent for the oversample markets, all reported at a 95 percent confidence level.

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Reporters May Contact:
Mike Conner, Bank of America, 1.980.386.8359
michael.l.conner@bankofamerica.com