John Hancock Financial Network National Survey of Non-Retired Investors Points to Opportunity for Retirement Income Experts

BOSTON, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recent national survey of non-retired investors, 90 percent of respondents said they felt it would be important to have a strategy in place for using their savings and investments to generate a regular income in retirement by the time they are 60 years old. Nearly 70 percent (69%) said they had or expected to have such a plan, yet only half of those respondents said they have used or would use their existing financial professional to develop it, according to the study conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates for John Hancock Financial Network.

Of the 70 percent with a retirement income plan, or who expect to develop one, nearly four in ten (38%) said they would create the plan on their own. Twelve percent (12%) would use a new financial professional, and four percent would seek a retirement income specialist specifically. Almost six in ten respondents who use advisors (58%) felt that it is important that their financial professional have some special retirement income certification in addition to other required credentials.

"The study shows there is a significant opportunity for financial professionals to grow their business," said Bruce Harrington, vice president, Sales and Business Development, John Hancock Financial Network. "With nearly 60 percent of non-retired investors who use advisors saying they felt it would be important to have special credentials in retirement income planning, we think advisors who have this additional training have a clear competitive advantage and should do well."

Harrington explained that it was good to see the national survey support the feeling that financial professionals with retirement income training and tools can be a tremendous resource for clients, protecting their nest eggs and reducing their stress. Last year, JHFN launched a comprehensive program to help financial professionals walk through retirement income issues with clients and create a customized strategy.

Retirement Ready (patent pending), available exclusively to firms affiliated with John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN), is a holistic retirement income process that presents the opportunity to help clients maximize their retirement income sustainability and mitigate some of the key risks they may face. It provides a methodology to review the effectiveness (or not) of the clients current strategy and how working with their financial professional may benefit them by using a product allocation strategy—customized to their specific needs and designed to help maximize certainty in retirement.

Methodology
This survey of 768 investors was conducted online by independent research firm Mathew Greenwald & Associates. Respondents were selected from among members of Research Now's online research panel. To qualify, respondents were required to participate at least to some extent in their household's financial decision-making process, have a household income of at least $75,000, and assets of $100,000

About John Hancock Financial Network
John Hancock Financial Network is a national network of independent firms with nearly 1,900 financial professionals across the U.S. A leader with the stability and scale to offer an innovative business model, John Hancock Financial Network gives entrepreneurial financial professionals the power to effectively build unique businesses, based on their own vision and market opportunity. For more information on John Hancock Financial Network and its national network of independent firms, visit www.johnhancockfinancialnetwork.com.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, John Hancock celebrates 150 years of serving clients across the United States, while Manulife celebrates its 125^th anniversary. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$514 billion (US$504 billion) as at June 30, 2012.  Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by Retirement Ready regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results.

SOURCE John Hancock Financial Network