RJ and Makay

Recent focus groups have uncovered something about older Americans every financial advisor (FA) should know: Although many of these individuals have spent years accumulating money in employer-sponsored retirement plans, they increasingly see these plans as almost untouchable and only to be used as a last resort.

That's what research firm Hearts & Wallets learned from focus groups it held recently in New Jersey, Dallas, and San Francisco with retirees and preretirees who had at least $500,000 in investment assets. "[Many] in the employer-sponsored plan side of the business would like to think of the 401(k) and 403(b) as the foundation from which financial security in old age will be drawn," the researchers wrote. "This may be true, but for many investors it is a security blanket not to be touched."

Older Americans can be described in two ways right now — worried about their financial security and skeptical of financial planners, particularly those who say they build portfolios that mitigate risk. That's what research firm Hearts & Wallets found when it conducted nine focus groups across the country.

The focus groups also revealed that older Americans have difficulty grasping the notion of multiple sources of retirement income and are very reluctant to tap into their employer-sponsored retirement plans. Furthermore, their trust in financial services companies and financial advisors is at a nine-month low.