Personal Perspectives More Optimistic
When asked about their personal situation, 63 percent of the survey respondents said they felt either very good or good about it, 18 percent felt neither good nor bad, and 19 percent felt either rather bad or very bad. This included factors such as having a home, secure employment and a strong family.
However, when asked about their financial situation, 46 percent of the respondents said they were very confident where as 43 percent noted that they were very concerned about their financial situation. Retirement invoked an even stronger response. Specifically, 58 percent of Americans were concerned about their retirement savings while 52 percent were very concerned about the becoming ill or needing long-term care.
"Given the current economic crisis, it is more important than ever for consumers to carefully evaluate their financial planning options to ensure they are leveraging products such as annuities and life insurance that offer protection and income regardless of market performance," said Gary Bhojwani, president and CEO of Allianz Life. "This survey is one mechanism that helps Allianz maintain a clear insight into the financial concerns of our consumers."
National Economic Outlook
The Allianz Consumer Confidence Survey found little confidence among Americans about the economy and important issues related to the nation’s future. Specifically, 73 percent of the respondents said they felt either rather bad or very bad about the overall situation in the U.S. in the next 12 months, 19 percent felt neither good nor bad about it, and only 17 percent felt either very good or rather good.
The future of the Social Security system was also a considerable worry for the respondents, two out of three of which (63 percent) either strongly agreed or rather agreed with the statement, "I am concerned about my Social Security." The respondents’ ages were generally not a determining factor in their responses, which tended to be within only a few percentage points across all age groups and survey categories.
Attitudes Differ in Regions
Regional differences were pronounced. Asked about the overall situation of the U.S. in the next 12 months, just 11 percent and 15 percent of the East North Central and West North Central regions, respectively, said they felt either very confident or rather confident about it. While, 22 percent of the respondents from the Pacific region felt similarly.
Americans living in the South Atlantic region were the most confident about their personal situation, with 48 percent stating they felt either very confident or rather confident about it. Least confident about their personal situation were the East North Central and New England regions, with 34 percent and 35 percent, respectively, saying their were either very confident or rather confident.
Confidence is Impacting Investment Strategies
Americans’ lack of confidence on economic issues – particularly the financial markets – is reflected in their plans to move cash into their bank accounts. In fact, approximately one out of every two survey respondents (54 percent) said they planned to keep a greater amount of their cash reserves in their banking accounts in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, a significant number of the respondents – 15 percent – said they plan to invest more strongly in life insurance/annuities, and 17 percent plan to increase their investments in stocks.
U.S. Least Confident of all Nations about Overall Economic Situation
When asked about the general economic situation, 83 percent of respondents said they were either very concerned or rather concerned. 80 percent felt the same way about international financial markets, and 79 percent felt similarly about the security of jobs.
Along with the study in the U.S., Allianz and GfK conducted surveys in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Russia, and Switzerland. The results showed that Americans were the least confident of all about their nation’s economic direction over the next year. In fact, 75 percent of the American respondents said they were either rather concerned or very concerned about the overall situation in their nation in the next 12 months. Confidence was second lowest in Hungary, where 68 percent of the respondent felt rather concerned or very concerned about their nation’s overall situation, and highest in Switzerland, where just 21 percent were rather concerned or very concerned.
