The biggest pension regrets – and how to avoid them

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If they are given the opportunity to do things over, many retirees say they would make financial decisions differently.

According to the survey Olivia MitchellA professor at Barton and CEO of the Pension Council, most adults over the age of 50 examined by Mitchell expressed strong regret over insufficient savings.

“Most of the respondents said they wanted to save more,” Mitchell said in a recent episode of retirement decoding (see video above or listen below). “Only 2% said they wished to save less.”

Pensioners also pointed out other mourners. Many were sorry that they did not work longer and did not delay social security claims – both would increase their retirement revenue.

Another notable finding was regrettable for failing to provide life’s revenue, such as annuity. Annuities provide constant income, which facilitates cost management, especially since cognitive capabilities are reduced by age.

“Many people are financially not as literate as they were when they were younger,” Mitchell said. “And having that constant income is and can be a real impetus. People were sorry that they didn’t do it too. “

Read more: Fixed Annuities vs. CDS: What is better for retirement savings?

In the announcement, Mitchell also referred to the increased number of older adults who retire with mortgage debt, student debt, credit card debt and the like.

According to Mitchell, older adults were sometimes proud of being retired without debt-so much that mortgage burning ceremonies were a common tradition in the 20th century America.

“But that attitude is not true for retirees today,” she said.

More and more retirees are now retiring without paying the mortgage – and in some cases, they even occupy a greater mortgage when moving to a solar climate or other state.

Credit card debt has also become increasing concern for pensioners. And weird, about 6% of pensioners are now seeing their social security checks decorated because of unpaid student loans – either theirs or those taken out for their children, Mitchell said.

“So, debt is increasingly disturbing the older population,” she said.

Read more: How to pay off your credit card debt when your budget is tightened

Further, Mitchell noted that high inflation led to increased interest rates on different types of debt, including mortgages, credit cards and student loans.