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

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%