Are You Financially Confident? New Guardian Research Reveals What It Takes to Achieve Financial and Emotional Confidence

Guardian quiz identifies key success drivers and offers ways to
improve financial confidence

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–What does it take to go from stressed and struggling to confident and
assertive? A new study by The Guardian
Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian) explores the
link between financial confidence and life satisfaction and identifies
the specific behaviors that lead to success in these areas.

According to The
Guardian Study of Financial and Emotional Confidence
, 78
percent of working American families are stressed and worried about
their financial future, regardless of age, gender, income or other
demographics. However, their behaviors contradict the financial
priorities they identify as most important in their lives:

  • Nearly 60 percent of Americans identify having at least some
    guaranteed income in retirement, apart from Social Security, as a
    major priority, but less than one in four feel very confident
    in any aspect of their retirement finances;
  • While 52 percent of Americans say that building savings is a
    major priority, more than 2/3 would not describe themselves as
    good at living within their means;
  • Having a solid, long-term plan for achieving your financial objectives
    is a major priority for 47 percent of Americans; however, 81
    percent
    don’t feel that they are good at setting up a long-term
    financial plan and sticking with it.

The Guardian Study of Financial and Emotional Confidence™ takes
a truly unique approach, looking at behaviors rather than demographics
to ascertain Americans’ emotional and financial confidence. We learned
it’s not solely your income that determines confidence, but rather your
attitudes and behaviors that are the deciding factors,” said Matthew
Bryan, Assistant Vice President at Guardian. “By mimicking the behaviors
of the most confident Americans, you may be able to achieve more
positive life and financial outcomes.”

Financial Confidence Quiz

Based on the study findings, Guardian developed a Financial
Confidence Quiz
that enables Americans to assess how confident they
may be about their financial future and that offers insights into how
they can make improvements.

After responding to a series of statements, individuals learn which
Financial and Emotional Confidence segment best represents them:

  • Day-to-Day Decision-Maker: Generally stressed and struggling
    with finances – In the study this segment included the highest
    proportion of women and Gen X;
  • Ambitious Spender: Stressed but coping – Small business owners
    comprised a large segment of this category in the study;
  • Retirement Realist: Fearful of the future, with an
    above-average emphasis on savings and having adequate retirement
    income;
  • Confident Planner: Very positive on work/life balance. Study
    participants in this segment placed an above-average emphasis on
    retiring with a secure income, and making good investment decisions,
    leading to a higher degree of overall life satisfaction than the other
    segments.

Quiz takers will also gain tips on how to improve their financial
confidence. “Making a few small changes in how you approach your
finances can put you on track to be more financially confident and
ultimately help you live a more satisfied, less-stressed life,” Bryan
added.

Optimal Behaviors for Financial Confidence

In its study, Guardian identified a pattern of behaviors exhibited by
the 21 percent of survey respondents in the top category of Confident
Planner
. Individuals in this segment are significantly more likely
to exhibit these four financial behaviors:

  • Education: The Confident Planners have higher levels of
    education as well as financial competence as measured by an assertion
    of basic understanding of financial concepts and products.
  • Plan: These individuals are more likely to live within their
    means and have some form of a written plan with specific details and
    clearly outlined objectives.
  • Ownership: Most own products appropriate for their financial
    goals that incorporate both growth and protection solutions.
  • Partnership: The majority work closely with an advisor and use
    some type of planning tool.

“The happiest and least-stressed Americans are the most financially
literate, are more likely to have a detailed plan, and own appropriate
products to financially protect their families,” Bryan said. “Advisors
can help by taking a holistic approach that identifies the gaps in their
clients’ current behaviors and then laying out a blueprint to address
those gaps for a more financially confident future that models the
behaviors of the most confident Americans.”

For more information on The
Guardian Study of Financial and Emotional Confidence
™,
please visit (www.guardianlife.com/insights-resources/financial-stress-confidence-study?WT.mc_id=GL_PR_LeadGen_LPage_All_144&WT.tsrc=PR)
or take the Guardian
Financial Confidence Quiz
(www.guardianlife.com/insights-resources/financial-confidence-quiz?WT.mc_id=GL_PR_LeadGen_Quiz_All_120&WT.tsrc=PR).

About the Survey

Guardian conducted a national online survey of 4,971 Americans age 18
and older who are currently employed full-time or part-time, have never
retired, and have household incomes of $50k or more.

About Guardian

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian) is
one of the largest mutual life insurers, with $7.3 billion in capital
and $1.5 billion in operating income (before taxes and dividends to
policyholders) in 2015. Founded in 1860, the company has paid dividends
to policyholders every year since 1868. Its offerings range from life
insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, and investments to
dental and vision insurance and employee benefits. The company has
approximately 8,000 employees and a network of over 3,000 financial
representatives in more than 70 agencies nationwide. For more
information about Guardian, please visit our website www.GuardianLife.com.
You can also follow Guardian on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Financial information concerning The Guardian Life Insurance Company
of America® as of 12/31/15 on a statutory basis: Admitted Assets = $48.1
Billion; Liabilities = $42 Billion (including $37 Billion of Reserves);
and Surplus = $6.1 Billion.

Contacts

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Ana Sandoval,
212-919-8551
Ana_Sandoval@glic.com
or
Harden
Communications Partners
Erin Burke, 631-239-6903
eburke@hardenpartners.com

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