Regret Able?

A new survey once again highlighted a consistent regret among American workers. 

According to the survey by American Century Investments, they wish they had saved more for retirement. 

Now, only about a third shared that regret—but it was more than twice the number that had regrets about career, personal relationships, not doing enough to enjoy life—not to mention “not being a better person overall.”[i]

Now, we all have regrets about certain life decisions. There are regrets about that “Reply All” email that was perhaps a little too honest, the hours spent at work at the expense of family, perhaps the cessation of piano lessons, and even a (too) sedentary lifestyle and bad diet. Some we regret immediately—while some come only after the passage of time. Some we learn from—and vow never to repeat. And some—unfortunately—come too late to do anything but live with the consequences. And then there are those regrets—that could be remedied—but aren’t. 

Regrets about retirement savings tend to be in the latter category. People often talk about the retirement crisis in this country, but like a tropical storm still well out to sea, there are widely varying assessments as to just how big it is, and—to (continue to) borrow some hurricane terminology—when it will make “landfall,” and with what force. Most of the predictions are dire, of course—and while they often rely on arguably unreliable measures like uninformed levels of confidence (or lack thereof), self-reported financials and savings averages—it’s hard to escape a pervasive sense that as a nation we’re in for some rough weather, particularly in view of the objective data we do have—things like coverage statistics and retirement readiness projections based on actual participant data.

As we’ve certainly experienced anew over the past 18 months, life is full of uncertainty, and events and circumstances, as often as not, happen with little if any warning. Even though hurricanes are something you can see coming a long way off, there’s always the chance that they will peter out sooner than expected, that landfall will result in a dramatic shift in course and/or intensity, or that, as with some (like Katrina)—the most devastating impact is what happens afterward. In theory, at least, that provides time to prepare—but, as the recent advent of COVID and the response—sometimes you don’t have as much time as you think you have, want or will need.

Doubtless—and as the recent survey findings suggest—a lot of retirement plan participants are going to look back at their working lives as they near the threshold of retirement with some regrets. They’ll perhaps remember the admonitions about (and their good intentions to) saving sooner, saving more, and the importance of regular, prudent reallocations of investment portfolios (they may even remember reading about surveys expressing those regrets). Thankfully—and surely because of the hard work of advisors and plan sponsors—many will have heeded those warnings in time. But others, just as surely—and particularly those without access to a retirement plan at work—may not.

The end of our working lives inevitably happens for different people at different times, in different ways, and to those in different states of readiness for that “event.” But we all know that it’s coming—and those who put off preparing for it are likely destined for a retirement full of regret. And that, not just for them, but for all of us, is… regrettable.

- Nevin E. Adams, JD

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[i] In fairness, it’s entirely possible that they’ve been more attentive and/or successful in those life avenues, and thus regrets weren’t required.