— 2018

Audencia-Humanis investigation into older people facing retirement: what are their expectations, perceptions, and financial situations?

As part of their research-action programme “Behaviours and Financial Vulnerability”, Audencia and the Humanis group, a social welfare organisation, undertook a national study on retirement and the financial vulnerability of older people in 2018. The study shed new light on concerns surrounding taking retirement – actual experience, needs, expectations, financial behaviours, and perceptions – in order to foresee and give prior warning of situations of financial vulnerability among older people. The Audencia-Humanis study, carried out among working and retired older people, concentrated on four angles: anticipating retirement, preparation, financial behaviour, and financial situation.

The results show, in particular, the deep concerns of working older people who are about to retire, and the difficulties retired people encounter meeting their day-to-day needs. Only 10% of retired people rarely or have never experienced financial difficulties. Another key point was that 25% helped dependants who are either close family or friends. This spending is often not anticipated. What seems to best define older people’s “profile” is an accumulation of changes or even ruptures experienced at this point in life, whether personal or professional or related to family and wealth. Statistically, older people experience a combination of the end of a professional career, potential dependency spending, a reduction in resources, helping a close friend or relative financially, establishing a new life project, etc. These ruptures, whether recent or upcoming, will mean the person needs specific support and preparation, as these changes can alter needs, perceptions and influence financial decision-making and behaviour.