Principal launches India’s first Financial Well Being Index

Fuel prices, food prices, rising inflation and unemployment top concern areas for the economy

Rise in home loan interest rates in the next one year major cause of worry

 

Principal Retirement Advisors (India) as part of the PrincipalFinancial Group, USA, has introduced the Principal Financial Well Being Index in India with an aim to gauge the financial well being of Indian households / workers. The study has been conducted along with its research partner — Nielsen Company in the last quarter of 2013.

The Well-Being Index is a very important initiative of the Principal Financial Group and it is currently in its 12th year running in the US. For the past decade, the Well-being Index has served as an important source of insights into the American household’s perception & concerns with respect to their own financial well-being and hence has been widely followed.  

In India too, the research was initiated with a similar objective and the study has managed to capture the perceptions and concerns of the Indian Households about economy, household spending, savings and investment attitude and other related trends for the Indian Households. The Well Being Index also touches upon Indians’ perceptions and attitude towards financialplanning, retirement planning, employee benefits and availing the services of financialadvisors.

Mr. Luis Valdes, President, Principal International said,” We are extremely proud to launch thePrincipal Financial Well Being Index for India. Principal has always championed the cause offinancial well-being and the Well Being Index is very critical in our efforts to understand thefinancial needs of the people and then provide meaningful long term solutions. The research will be released annually and it will keep a pulse on the well-being of Indian households.”

Mr. Rajan Ghotgalkar, Country Head — India, Principal Financial Group said, “Indian households are maintaining a cautious outlook as they approach 2014. But it is encouraging to see that a majority of them feel that they are in control of their financial situation and are making decent progress towards achieving their financial goals. The Principal Financial Well Being Index will provide unparalleled insights into how Indian households are managing personal money matters.”

 

According to the study, Some of the major findings of the study are summarized below:

Perceptions & Concerns of Economy in general

   48% of Indian Households expect the economy to worsen in 2014. This pessimist view is exhibited more by the older population. 

  Fuel prices (79%), food prices (69%), rising inflation (74%) and unemployment (69%) are seen as top concern areas for the economy in the next 1 year

  Overall 77% respondents feel that the prices of groceries, fuel and other household items will go up in next one year. Respondents feel that increase in prices for Food & Beverages (72%) and transportation (69%) are likely to affect the budgets seriously

  78% respondents are concerned about rise in home loan interest rates in the next one year

  57% of overall respondents see rupee falling more vis-a-vis US$ in next one year

Household Spending, Savings & Investments

  More and more respondents exhibit attitude towards high consumption & spending on new items & luxuries. Most Households expect spending to increase across all expense categories

  Buying a House/property (51%) & Children expenses (education & marriage) are the key big ticket expenses expected in 2014

  74% Households are satisfied with their current levels of savings. 67% Households say that their savings have stayed the same in past 1-2 years

  69% Households are satisfied with their current level of  investments

Holiday Plan: 73% people say they are not planning a holiday in 2014. Out of remaining 27% who are planning a holiday in 2014, 60% will spend the same amount as last year

Festivity spending: 64% people say they will spend the same amount as last year in the upcoming festivities

Planning for Unexpected Expenses/ emergencies: To cope with unexpected expenses, Indians plan to cut down expenses on non-essential items (42%) and use money from Savings (38%). This indicates that people will have no specific preparation to cope up with emergencies.

Financial Priorities & Attitude towards finances: Overall respondents feel that they are in control of their financial situation (63%) and are making good progress (63%) towards their financial goals.

Availing services of Financial Advisors

  Experience (47%) and Qualification (47%) are key attributes that people look for in an advisor. Almost 70% people consult financial advisors referred by their friend / family & co-workers.

  Setting Financial Goals (51%), Tax Saving / planning (47%) are the top reasons for consulting a financial advisor. Retirement planning also figures prominently with 35% respondents consulting financial advisor for the same.

  Overall 64% respondents feel more financially confident after availing services ofFinancial Advisor

  55% people cite knowledge (know enough on their own) as the foremost reason for not consulting a financial advisor. 51% of those not consulting a financial advisor are willing to pay fees for financial advice in future

Retirement planning attitude & perceptions

  Staying happy & stress free (48%) and having enough savings (45%) are the main thoughts for post-retirement finances

  Overall 52% people claim to have started investing for retirement when they were 26 — 30 years old. 76% plan to retire between 56-60 years of age. Buying a house (25%),  children education (23%) & children marriage are the Top 3 aspirations post retirement

Employee benefits & satisfaction levels

  75%  respondents feel that employee benefits are critical for employee retention /  better performance

  Disability Insurance, Financial Planning, are the top benefits with highest satisfaction levels

  

The Principal Financial Well Being Index - US

The Principal Financial Well-Being Index is a very important initiative of the Principal Financial Group (PFG) in the US and is currently in its 12th year running. PFG, as champions of Financial Well Being, started the WellBeing Index with an aim to keep a finger on the pulse of the financial well- being of American workers. It is a quarterly survey conducted in the US along with its research partner Harris- Interactive. Through the Well BeingIndex, the Principal, not only gauges the Financial Well-being of American workers but also focus on the concerns, attitudes and behaviors of people as it related to the topics of financial security.

 

The Principal Financial Well Being Index — India

Principal Financial Group, for the first time, has introduced the Well Being Index study in India with an aim to gauge the financial well-being of Indian workers. The study has been conducted along with its research partner — Nielsen Company

 

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal ®)[1] is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $466.2 billion in assets under management[2] and serves some 19.0 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

 

About Principal Retirement Advisors

Principal Retirement Advisors is India’s first dedicated retirement solutions specialist, bringing over 65 years of experience of the Principal Financial Group in retirement planning in the United States and other global markets. Principal Retirement Advisors (PRA) is the wholly owned subsidiary of The Principal in India. PRA offers personalized financial advisory services to individual clients to address their various life stage needs leading upto a financially secured and independent retirement. Through a time-tested approach delivered by mature & dedicated financial professionals (Principal Retirement Planners), PRA aims to deliver a customized, unbiased and holistic solution to its clients for them to achieve financial security & success over their entire lifetime. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company has offices in Delhi, Bangalore, Pune & Hyderabad with immediate plans to expand to Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow.

 

Research Design & Methodology

The research has been conducted in 11 cities with a total sample size of 1664 respondents

Cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune

 

Respondent Profile

ï‚·        Age: 25-60 years

ï‚·        Male: Female

ï‚·        SEC: A & B

ï‚·        Annual Household Income: INR 5 lac+

ï‚·        Salaried or self-employed professionals: Employed full time/part time with either a small*/medium*/large* sized company

 

Type of Study

Quantitative research conducted using a structured questionnaire in a CAPI (Computer Aided Personal Interview) format.

 

Research Methodology

ï‚·        Interviews conducted at respondents’ home

ï‚·        A given market has been divided into several zones and these have been further split by different starting points, in order to ensure sufficient randomness in the sample

ï‚·        Quotas maintained for demographic parameters namely Age, SEC, Gender & Employment Status

ï‚·        In a given household only one member was interviewed

 

 

 

For more information

PR 24x7 Network Limited

Atul Malikram

[email protected]

www.pr24x7.com