A large majority of Americans prefer to “do-it-myself” ratherthan depend on an agent, broker or some other financial advisor tohelp them put together a retirement savings and income plan, whichmay be a major reason why so many consumers feel insecure abouttheir long-term future.

Deloitte's Center for Financial Services surveyed nearly 4,500 consumers from a wide range of age and incomegroups, identifying five barriers that are preventing insurers andannuity companies, along with other financial services providersand their intermediaries from more effectively reaching prospectswhen it comes to retirement products and services.

Ourprior blogs about this survey focused on the first fourbarriers — conflicting financial priorities, a failure tocommunicate effectively with potential prospects (particularly viathe workplace), limited awareness and understanding ofretirement-related products among consumers, and a basic lack oftrust in insurers and their intermediaries.

The fifth barrier is the “do-it-myself” mentality adopted bymany consumers when it comes to preparing for retirement. As aresult, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed by Deloitte (and aboutthree-quarters of those who are 15 years or more from retirement)did not consult with a professional financial advisor for theirretirement needs.

This barrier is particularly problematic, given Deloitte'ssurvey results suggesting that using professional advisors has asignificant impact on retirement planning and security. Indeed,those with a formal retirement plan are much more likely to feelsecure about their long-term financial future, the survey found.And those who seek professional advice on retirement are much morelikely to have a retirement plan.

Interestingly, relatively few (13 percent) going it alone saythey don't seek help in retirement planning because they've had abad experience with an advisor. Even fewer think that price is anissue, with only 12 percent asserting they can't afford anadvisor's services.

So, what's holding most people back from seeking professionaladvice?

Beyond the trust issues already addressed in our last blog about Deloitte's survey, the main reasons manychoose not to consult with an advisor represent two sides of thesame coin — their comfort level in handling retirement planning ontheir own, and the belief that they don't need professionaladvice.

This “do-it-myself” mentality — while perhaps valid for thosewho have expertise and experience managing investments on their own— may not be the most appropriate method for many to navigate thepotentially bumpy road to retirement, particularly given thesurvey's findings regarding the glaring lack of knowledge amongconsumers when it comes to retirement products and services, suchas annuities.

The challenge for insurers, agents, brokers and financialplanners may therefore be to effectively identify, target andeducate more of these “do-it-yourselfers” to better inform themabout the benefits of professional advisory services, as well asthe potential hazards of self-service.

Targeting non-consumers of professional advice presents someinteresting challenges for insurers. Obviously, only a subset ofthis segment might be persuaded to engage with professionaladvisors. But converting more do-it-yourselfers to advice-seekerscould be rewarding if executed in the right manner.

The key might be to serve as financial planning facilitators andenablers rather than sellers of products — emphasizing that whileconsumers are ultimately in charge of their own investments, thereis value in having expert advice so they are able to make moreinformed decisions, based on all the available options.

Also, to drive home the need for professional advice, newmarketing and advertising campaigns could be deployed to point outthe risks of “doing-it-myself” when it comes to something ascritical and potentially complex as retirement planning.

Following the lead of ad campaigns in the personal autoinsurance market, such messages could be delivered in a humorous,entertaining fashion, picturing the potentially disastrous resultsthat might occur by deciding to “do it myself” in home and autorepairs, making one's own clothing, cutting your own hair, andother funny but telling scenarios.

Retirement planning is probably one of the biggest financialchallenges most consumers will ever face. The majority likelyrequires help to set the stage for a financially secure retirement— even if many of them don't yet recognize that need, or think theyare better off handling their own portfolios rather than receivingassistance from a professional advisor.

Ultimately, it is the consumer who must take responsibility forand control of their own retirement destiny. But insurers and theirintermediaries can perhaps better facilitate the retirementplanning process by rethinking their operating models andapproaches to more effectively meet this challenge.

A full report on what the Deloitte survey results have to sayabout overcoming all five barriers —“Meetingthe Retirement Challenge: New Approaches and Solutions for theFinancial Services Industry”— can be accessed with this link. The numbers for this report were crunched, sliced,diced, analyzed and visualized with the support of Deloitte's DataAnalysis Team, including Rahul Bagati, Nikhil Gokhale and AdityaUdai Singh.