Affluent Americans Confident in Their Money Management Skills but Underprepared to Transfer Wealth to Heirs, First Citizens Wealth Study Finds

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[{"type":"text","content":"RALEIGH, N.C., June 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- First Citizens Wealth, the wealth management division of First Citizens Bank (NASDAQ: FCNCA/FCNCB), today published the results of a new study conducted to uncover insights on the behaviors and attitudes of affluent Americans toward money management and planning for the future. Key findings include:\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n66% of affluent Americans believe they manage their money better than others; only 4% believe they do worse.Affluent Americans expect to need $5.5 million to retire and pass down wealth to heirs; only 50% say they are very prepared to pass down wealth and have a written plan in place.Nine out of 10 affluent Americans credit financial advisors for growing their wealth; additional benefits of working with a financial advisor include reducing stress, saving time, enhancing feelings of preparedness.The \"Beyond Wealth\" study surveyed affluent individuals across the United States with more than $500,000 in investable assets.1\n\"Our inaugural study sheds new light on how affluent Americans are looking at their money management and their attitudes toward retirement, estate planning and wealth transfer,\" said Michael Wilson, executive vice president and lead executive for First Citizens Wealth. \"We are excited to share these results and use these insights to assist our clients in their efforts to achieve their wealth planning objectives.\"\nThe study found that a solid majority of affluent Americans (66%) believe they are managing their money better than others. About half are not stressed about their finances, and three quarters have a written financial plan that typically has been updated in the past three years.\nRetirement and wealth transfer\nWhen looking at retirement and wealth transfer, however, the study shows that affluent Americans are less prepared. Most expect to retire in their 60s, yet nearly 1 in 5 (18%) are unsure of when they will retire.\nThe primary concern of affluent Americans preparing for retirement is maintaining their lifestyle (44%). To retire comfortably, affluent Americans expect they will need $3 million. To retire and be able to pass down wealth to heirs, they expect to need $5.5 million.\nNearly all (94%) affluent Americans expect to pass down wealth to heirs either during or after their lifetime. Yet only 50% say they are very prepared...

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