'Terrified' investors repeatedly checking retirement balances, survey finds

Today’s turbulent markets are causing “terrified” investors to check their retirement balances more than three times a week, according to a new survey.

A slight majority (51%) of investors who haven't yet retired say they're “terrified” about their long-term and post-retirement financial futures, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute’s eighth annual Advisor Authority survey. One disturbing finding showed that 43% of investors check their retirement account balances more than three times a week because of the volatility in the stock market.

The study showed this tendency is more common among women than men (53% versus 34%). That said, the report revealed that men are slightly more likely to say they are “terrified” about their long-term financial futures than women (55% versus 49%, respectively).

Eric Henderson, president of Nationwide Annuity, said in a statement that the obsessive checking of retirement balances “can create self-induced anxiety, which can lead to short-sighted, emotional decisions.”

“It’s a habit that is unlikely to serve a constructive purpose at a time when we’d all like to be focused on recharging our batteries and being with the people we care about," Henderson said. "If you want to take proactive steps, have a conversation with your advisor or financial professional and establish a long-term plan — or revisit the plan you already have in place to ensure it remains aligned with your goals in the current environment.”

“It’s easy to understand why American investors are feeling anxious — we are coming out of a global pandemic, are experiencing increased inflation rates, and have seen significant market volatility inside of one year," said Nina Lloyd, president and CEO of Opus Financial Advisors, part of the Advisor Group network of firms. "While it can be tempting to deviate from tried-and-true investment ideology, I encourage investors to keep saving and remain committed to a well-diversified portfolio.”

Lloyd also recommended that investors who are feeling the financial strain should eliminate variable-rate debt and have a financial safety net in place. She suggests having “a liquid emergency fund with three to six months' living expenses in an FDIC-insured savings account.” 

As for the differences between genders, the survey showed that women are slightly more likely to say that they are taking steps to adjust their retirement portfolio in light of recent market volatility (35% versus 26% men). This preparation may help explain why 41% of women agree that they feel confident in their financial plan despite market volatility, compared to just 11% of men, according to Nationwide.

The repeated talk of a potential recession is pushing investors to rethink the timing of their retirement as well. The report showed that inflation has led both women and men to rethink their retirement dates, with women (44%) are more likely than men (28%) to agree that signs of inflation and recession have led them to reconsider when they can retire.

Finally, the Nationwide report revealed that advisers and financial professionals are feeling their clients’ anxiety as well. According to the survey, a tad over a third of advisers (34%) say their clients who are approaching retirement or recently retired are canceling or delaying retirement. Only 17% of advisers say that most of this group of clients have contingency plans for a major market downturn, according to the report.