Californians significantly more optimistic about retirement readiness than elsewhere (Los Angeles: mortgages, income)

[18Montclair]

California metros buck national trends

Residents of San Francisco have a relatively bright outlook on the years ahead -- a factor that helped propel the metro into the top spot on this year's index. The number of people who say they feel "happy" (51%), "optimistic" (42%) and "empowered" (19%) when they think about retirement are all significantly higher than the national average. Likewise, a third (33%) of locals say they're very confident their retirement will work out they way they planned, compared to approximately two in ten retirees (22%) nationwide.

While people in Sacramento and San Diego are more likely to share the somewhat mixed sentiments of people across the U.S., they report being more proactive about planning for retirement than other Americans. Nearly a third (31%) of Sacramento residents and 35% of San Diego locals say they have determined the amount of income needed in retirement compared to only a quarter (25%) of people surveyed nationwide. Likewise, 81% of people in California's capital city say they've thought a lot about the activities they'll pursue during their retirement years -- far more than the national average (72%).

Los Angeles (#8) may not have ranked in the top three, but it did make an impressive leap to the top third of the index after ranking last in 2010. What helped propel L.A. so dramatically? More than three quarters (78%) of locals say they are preparing financially for retirement -- a significant increase from 2010 when only 63% reported doing so. This extra preparation has also changed locals' views on retirement -- or maybe positive attitudes have made people more willing to focus on the future. Whatever the case, 70% of L.A. residents report positive feelings about retirement, compared to only 60% last year.

Retirement Readiness Varies in America's 30 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Overall rankings for 2011

The 30 metropolitan areas surveyed are ranked as follows. (2010 ranks appear in parenthesis.)
1. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (12)
2. Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto (4)
3. San Diego (6)
4. St. Louis (17)
5. Portland (24)
6. Hartford-New Haven (7)
7. Dallas-Ft. Worth (11)
8. Los Angeles (30)
9. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne (28)
10. Philadelphia (22)
11. Chicago (13)
12. Pittsburgh (18)
13. Tampa-St. Petersburg (19)
14. Seattle-Tacoma (5)
15. Houston (14)
16. Denver (8)
17. Phoenix (16)
18. Minneapolis-St. Paul (1)
19. Raleigh-Durham (2)
20. Detroit (21)
21. Baltimore (9)
22. Charlotte (27)
23. Boston (10)
24. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (20)
25. Washington D.C. (23)
26. Nashville (3)
27. Cleveland-Akron (25)
28. Atlanta (15)
29. New York City (26)
30. Indianapolis (29)

Retirement Readiness Varies in America's 30 Largest Metropolitan Areas - MarketWatch

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I think many of them are incredibly naive.

Once the harsh realities of fixed / limited income hit, they may be changing their tunes, especially if they continue to try and cling to this expensive environment.

Sadly, many will succumb to reverse mortgages and deplete their estates.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

I think many of them are incredibly naive.

Once the harsh realities of fixed / limited income hit, they may be changing their tunes, especially if they continue to try and cling to this expensive environment.

Sadly, many will succumb to reverse mortgages and deplete their estates.

And a lucky few will discover that they can be immensely happy in spite of limited material resources ...

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

I think many of them are incredibly naive.

Once the harsh realities of fixed / limited income hit, they may be changing their tunes, especially if they continue to try and cling to this expensive environment.

Sadly, many will succumb to reverse mortgages and deplete their estates.

As you can tell, MontClair likes to post shallow stats all the time and try to make the 'obvious' trending inferences...

Americans Not Ready for Retirement - - CBS News
Half of Americans have saved just $25,000 for retirement - Mar. 15, 2011
Most Americans Aren't Prepared for Retirement | Care2 Causes
Most Americans Haven’t Planned for Retirement and Other Areas of Concern - Real Time Economics - WSJ
Four-in-five not ready for retirement | BenefitsPro

Optimism doesn't pay the bills ..

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

And a lucky few will discover that they can be immensely happy in spite of limited material resources ...

Good for them, realistically though.. they are not prepared for retirement due to their 'habits' .. and the reality is far off from their unrealistic optimism .. Thus, when they do finally hit retirement (in which long term planning matters - which many Americans are horrible at).. The result will be a group of older adult zombies looking for younger rising Americans to prey on for handouts to fund their shortfalls (people hardly ever 'discover that they can be immensely happy in spite of limited material resources'... they always want more .. more of what someone else has... meanwhile ramping up the every increasing American debt as daddy govt. rides to their rescue.

[rimmerama]

The difference between an optimist and a cynic? The cynic is usually right.

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by rimmerama

The difference between an optimist and a cynic? The cynic is usually right.

Just be a realist.. works out a lot better.

[Bulldogdad]

I miss the old days when old people just walked off into the woods when they were too much a burden on society.




JUST KIDDING...... Or am I

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

I miss the old days when old people just walked off into the woods when they were too much a burden on society.




JUST KIDDING...... Or am I

Funny you mentioned it.

My version goes something like skiing out of bounds and just keep going and going ... either it would be an amazing adventure ala the Mountain Men or a "good death" (like the ending of "Legends of the Fall")!

[mysticaltyger]

We really have no idea what methodology this study used. Studying "feelings" when it comes to retirement planning is a bad idea right from the start. It could be the more pessimistic metro areas could be better off in the long run. When it comes to retirement planning, optimists are too prone to magical thinking.

A real study on retirement planning would look at people's savings and other assets to determine whether or not they could live at least a basic lifestyle. I suspect the rankings would be a lot more stable if financial and other assets were taken into acccount.