High costs dampen Americans' dreams of traveling in retirement finds RBC Wealth Management Poll

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Dec 06, 2016, 09:00 ET

But experts say good planning and embracing the growing share economy can make travel a reality

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - It's no surprise that travel is an important retirement goal for the majority of Americans, but for many, concerns about the rising costs of a life of adventure may stand in the way of making that goal a reality.

According to a recent RBC Wealth Management poll, three in five (63 percent) of Americans age 50 and older say travel is an important retirement goal. Yet more than half express concern that the high cost of travel could prevent them from achieving that goal.

"Everyone is worried about whether they will have saved enough to fund a comfortable retirement," said Tom Sagissor, president of RBC Wealth Management-U.S. "The closer people get to retirement age, the more they begin to look at needs vs. wants. Often times, because of fear, the needs win out, putting bigger dreams like a trip to Greece or Beijing on hold. But there are many ways to rebalance assets to make travel, if that is indeed a goal, a reality."

In fact, with the advent of the global sharing economy, travel may be more within reach for the current generation of retirees than ever before. Vacation home rental sites, local car sharing and even bike and sports equipment rental sites are making it easier for people to escape and explore new destinations for less.

"More and more clients are coming to our advisors for help in learning how to use the "shared economy" more strategically in retirement," said Griffin Geisler, manager of the Wealth Center at RBC Wealth Management-U.S. "While it's a trend started namely by millennials, Baby Boomers in or near retirement can certainly stand to benefit."

Beyond the potentially prohibitive cost of travel, a majority (52 percent) of Americans also said that concerns about safety and terrorism could prevent them from traveling. Americans were far more likely than their Canadian peers to feel this way.

Personal health is another major barrier that can get in the way of travel plans. One third (31 percent) of Americans said their own personal health or a loved one's health could prevent them from traveling abroad. Americans also worry about possible health concerns that may come up while abroad, two in ten (21 percent) say that the cost of travel/medical insurance is a burden, and 15 percent are concerned about insurance coverage if they get sick or injured.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of RBC Wealth Management from September 30 to October 4, 2016. For the survey, a sample of n=1256 Americans aged 50+ was interviewed online via Ipsos's American online panel. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is measured using a Bayesian credibility interval. In this case, with a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had all Americans aged 50+ been polled.

About RBC Wealth Management-U.S.
In the United States, RBC Wealth Management operates as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Founded in 1909, RBC Capital Markets, LLC. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and other major securities exchanges. RBC Wealth Management has $279 billion in total client assets with 1,800 financial advisors operating in 200 locations in 41 states. For more information about RBC Wealth Management-U.S., visit http://www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/

SOURCE RBC