New York Life finds Midwesterners are holding their own in the face of the ongoing pandemic - and ready to take action on their finances
In order to better understand how people in the U.S. are experiencing the emotional and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Life asked 2,200 adults in late March and again in early and late April, a range of questions about how their emotions connect to their financial outlook.
Data was broken out by a number of demographics, including region, revealing some key findings about how people are responding here in the Midwest. Overall, we’re holding our own and continuing to prepare for whatever challenges come our way.
The coronavirus continues to disturb the Midwest – but positivity is rising.
Aside from larger cities, the Midwest has been somewhat less impacted than other more densely populated regions in the U.S. Even so, deep uncertainty about the virus has led to mixed emotions over the past couple of months.
People in the region report feeling more worried than scared – although both emotions saw a decline over the course of April. Though more than half of Midwesterners surveyed report feeling hopeful, feelings of connectedness and unity have dropped marginally since early March.
Finance is becoming a bigger focus - but retirement planning is taking a back seat.
Recent events have made people across the region re-evaluate many aspects of their lives – including their financial strategy. In each wave of our research so far, roughly half of Midwesterners have said their finances have become a greater priority.
In the short term, around 40 percent of Midwesterners say the economic outlook for the next year has made them feel less confident about the status of their savings. But looking longer term over the next ten years, around a quarter say they feel more confident. Less than half of respondents say they feel confident their retirement savings will last them the rest of their lives.
Yet concerns about retirement planning seem to be taking a back seat to other financial needs. Only around a quarter of Midwesterners say they’re prioritizing retirement as a result of the coronavirus and an even smaller proportion (21 percent) say that the current economic environment makes them more likely to save for retirement.
Caring for aging relatives is also a growing concern.
The long-term well-being and care of older relatives is also a growing concern for many in the Midwest. In late March, 59 percent of respondents said they were thinking of their aging family members more often. By late April, that percentage had grown to 68 percent.
Around a quarter of respondents in the Midwest believe the economic environment created by the pandemic has made it more likely they will have to care for an aging family member at some point. But only a third of respondents say they feel confident about caring for an older relative. This suggests some additional planning will be beneficial for families to cope with the impact of the virus on more vulnerable family members.
Midwesterners are ready to take action on their finances
The pandemic has clearly raised new and urgent financial and family concerns for many people in the Midwest, as well as across the country, but the New York Life survey shows Midwesterners are aware of these issues – and are increasingly ready to take steps to address them.
The proportion of Midwesterners saying their financial plan was a good start, but needs to be updated for the current environment, grew from 34 percent to 44 percent between late March and late April, for example. Meanwhile, the proportion who said they need to create or completely re-evaluate their financial strategies leapt from 51 percent to 67 percent between late March and late April.
As Midwesterners look ahead to what will become the next normal, it’s clear that further challenges may lie ahead. The good news is that a sound financial strategy, created with the support of a local financial professional, can offer greater peace of mind in these uncertain times.
This educational, third-party article is provided as a courtesy by James Clang, Agent, New York Life Insurance Company. To learn more about the information or topics discussed, please contact Clang Financial at 308.872.6810.