Money
Goldman survey: 37% of top earners still living paycheck to paycheck
By Bear Creek Staff, . Bear Creek Capital Network.
Financial strain in retirement saving runs further up the income ladder than most advisers assume, according to a Goldman Sachs Asset Management survey released September 30 and covered by both Financial Planning and American Banker.
The survey covered 5,106 individuals, including 3,612 workers and 1,494 retirees between the ages of 45 and 75. Among those earning between $300,000 and $500,000 a year, 34% report living paycheck to paycheck. Among those earning above $500,000, the figure rises to 37%. By contrast, 22% of respondents in the $100,000 to $200,000 range and 25% in the $200,000 to $300,000 range said the same. The survey's own language, as quoted in the report, notes that "certain financial concerns also appeared among some higher-income households, although the nature and retirement implications of those concerns may differ from those experienced by lower-income households."
Christopher Ceder, senior retirement strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said at a press briefing that the challenge of servicing 401(k) plans is broad-based. "I do think it's a broad-based situation, and it's figuring out how to segment to help make sure that you're delivering a more comprehensive set of services," he said.
Separately, Wyatt Lee, who leads target date strategies for T. Rowe Price inside the firm's Global Multi-Asset Division, said at the same briefing that annuity demand has grown and that advisers are "ideally placed to be able to talk about them because many individuals are reluctant to annuitize on their own."
Thirty-four percent of survey respondents said they will likely seek additional employment for financial security reasons. The survey also found that while workers use artificial intelligence for research, a majority still prefer human guidance for tax planning, retirement income, guaranteed income, major life events, emotional reassurance and market downturns.
Leah Schwarz, managing director of Perspective Wealth, a firm that partners with registered investment adviser Steward Partners, described clients taking second jobs to cover college costs and cutting discretionary spending. "It's an important time for advisors right now to reassure and show clients that you have a plan and keep them updated on how well the plan is working," she told Financial Planning.
The finding that high earners are not insulated from paycheck-to-paycheck dynamics is the more actionable data point here. Plan sponsors and advisers who have historically concentrated support resources on lower-income participants may be underserving a segment that generates significant fee revenue and, apparently, carries more financial fragility than their income would suggest. What the survey does not establish is why the strain is concentrated at the very top of the income distribution rather than declining steadily as income rises, nor whether the pattern reflects spending behavior, debt load, or something else entirely. That distinction matters for how advisers actually respond.
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