Primerica Releases Fourth Financial Security Monitor
Valdosta Daily Times, September 9, 2021
Duluth – Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI), a leading provider of financial services in the U.S. and Canada, is releasing its latest quarterly Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor – a national survey of middle-income families measuring their financial situation. The survey found that 65% of middle-income families feel positive about their current financial situation; however, an equal share (65%) says their income is falling behind the cost of living, up 9% from April. Primerica’s Financial Security Monitor measures changes in the sentiments of middle-income families about their finances.
“We’re encouraged that most middle-income families are optimistic about their financial situations, although they are feeling the pressure of rising inflation,” said Glenn J. Williams, CEO of Primerica. “We also see that more than half of these families are taking responsibility to improve their financial situation by saving for the future and protecting their families with life insurance, and even more families are considering taking similar actions. These steps are especially important today, as people are reporting increased prices on everything from gas to eating out to going to the movies.”
Key Findings from Primerica’s U.S. Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor
- Nearly everyone has noticed increasing costs of goods and services. This includes gas (94%), local home prices (92%), groceries (91%), housing costs (90%), restaurants/bars (84%), health care (80%), entertainment – movies, sporting events, concerts (75%), taxes (73%), and childcare (73%).Additionally, concern about paying for food and groceries has grown from 12% to 17% in the past year.
- About half have life insurance, but Covid-19 is increasing interest among middle-income families. About half (53%) of individuals report having life insurance, and 19% have life insurance policies outside of work of $100K or less, 10% have policies between $100-$300K, and 4% have policies worth more than $400K. Among those who do not have a life insurance policy outside of work, 10% of say they are more interested in finding out about purchasing life insurance because of Covid-19.
- Topline Trends Data: As concerns over rising inflation are starting to emerge, middle-income consumers remain positive about their personal finances.
| Aug. 2021 | Apr. 2021 | Dec. 2020 | Sep. 2020 | |
| More say their income is falling behind the cost of living. | 65% | 56% | 59% | 50% |
| Fewer anticipate being financially better off a year from now. | 18% | 25% | 23% | 32% |
| Fewer are saving enough for a comfortable retirement. | 22% | 25% | 24% | 31% |
| More feel it will be difficult to save for the future. | 63% | 58% | 65% | 54% |
| About the same say their personal finances are in good shape. | 65% | 67% | 57% | 64% |
The full study is available for review on Primerica’s “Our Impact” webpage here: http://www.primerica.com/public/our-impact.html
About Primerica’s Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor
The Monitor is a quarterly national survey to monitor the financial health of those with annual household incomes of $30,000-$100,000 in 2020. Change Research conducted online polling from July 27 through August 5, 2021. Using Dynamic Online Sampling, Change Research polled 841 adults. Post-stratification weights were made on gender, age, race, education and Census region to reflect the population of these adults based on the five-year averages in the 2018 American Community Survey published by the U.S. Census. The margin of error is 4.3%.
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