Category: Health and Wellness Issues
October 4, 2020 -- Thanks to the more than 500 generous people who cared enough to spend a few minutes filling our Coronavirus Activity Survey. As we hoped, the results were extremely interesting. Most were predictable, but it is reassuring to see most Topretirements Members are taking the pandemic seriously. The hundreds of personal comments written in to several of the questions make one thing very clear - the coronavirus pandemic has been one of the most momentous events in all of our lifelines, changing daily life now, and in some ways for the rest of our lives.
Some main points:
Topretirements Members are more likely to take a vaccine than the general population (71% vs. 50%).
The CDC has taken a big reputational hit, with far more trusting Dr. Fauci.
Mask compliance is high.
About half of respondents will go to a barbershop or salon.
Car travel is viewed as far safer than flying
People are split about eating in restaurants and visiting friends.
Almost all of the survey responses were given before the President and some in his inner circle tested positive. Our hope is that people will take precautions even more seriously after seeing how communicable the virus is. Note that Topretirements Members and visitors are almost all aged 55+.
Here are the results of the survey:
Q1 Would you take a coronavirus vaccine if the CDC said it was safe and effective?
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
More than two thirds (71%) of those taking the survey said they would take the vaccine. This contrasts with a recent CNN poll, which showed that 51% of Americans would try to get the vaccine. In the CNN poll 60% of those over 65 said they would take it.
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[jcol/]71%29%[jcol/][/jcolumns]
197 Comments: More than two thirds of respondents said they will take a vaccine, but cautiously. There is a great deal of distrust of CDC as being politicized. Many would like to give a vaccine time to prove itself. Below are links to all 197 Comments on this question (Mac and Xcl versions).
covid-q-10-2020-csv-1Mac Download
q1-covid-survey-take-vaccineXcl Download
Typical comment: "Maybe. I wanna vaccine but I want to be sure that it is safe. It depends when the vaccine comes out. If it comes out before election day I will not take it because I think it would be a political vaccine. "
Q2. Who do you believe more about vaccine effectiveness and safety?
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Published on October 3, 2020
Comments 12
Category: Active adult communities
August 18, 2020 -- The results are in!
Many, many thanks to the generous 300+ Topretirements Members who took the the time to fill out our survey on retirement community preferences. Your input confirms much of our past research and offers fresh perspective on others. Once again your favorite amenity was walking trails. You also wrote in almost 200 illuminating comments - we just wish we had room to highlight every one - because they all offer a unique perspective.
HighlightsEveryone has their own unique take on retirement, that much is obvious from these results. That is particularly true if you look at the 134 comments made to Question 10, "Please describe your ideal retirement community". Here are some of the top takeaways from the survey:
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Published on August 17, 2020
Comments 18
Category: Health and Wellness Issues
January 13, 2020 -- Many thanks to the over 400 members who took the time to contribute their valuable insights to last week's "Retirement Happiness" survey, We appreciate your spirit of giving back to this community!
As promised, here is a detailed report on the survey. We've included links to hundreds of interesting Member responses to various questions - they are definitely worth reading to get a better understand happiness and retirement. At the end of the article you will find a list of reports to all our previous surveys.
BackgroundThis is the first time we have surveyed on your retirement happiness. Here are the highlights from the 18 question poll. Detailed findings the questions are listed below that.
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Published on January 12, 2020
Comments 8
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 22, 2019 -- Have you been wondering how your retirement investments and strategies stack up to other people in your situation? Do you make the same types of investments as others... use a financial advisor... think you saved enough? Well, thanks to the almost 500 members who took the time to contribute their valuable data and insights to last week's "The State of Your Retirement Portfolio" survey, you will know the answers to a lot of these questions. Special thanks to all contributors to the survey - we appreciate you giving back to this community!
As promised, here is a detailed report on the survey. It includes a link to 100 interesting Member comments to the survey. And you will find a list of all our previous survey reports at the end of the article.
BackgroundThis is the second time we have asked for data about your retirement investments and expectations. Here are the highlights from the most recent 14 question poll, with comparisons to the 2015 survey results when available. Detailed findings for each question are listed below that.
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Published on April 21, 2019
Comments 7
Category: Retirement Planning
November 26, 2018 -- Thanks to the almost 700 members who generously contributed their insights to last week's "Snowbird" poll. We appreciate you sharing! As promised, here in Part 1 is our first detailed report on the summary for each question. Part 2 features a compilation of the most popular snowbird pairings (where our Members say they want to snowbird to, and from where), along with how they get there and other details of their migrations.
HighlightsYour input confirms many of our pre-conceived opinions, along with some surprises. For example, it is not news that the top snowbird destination states are Florida, Arizona, and South Carolina - in that order. But we were surprised by how many people have a reverse migration pattern; they pack up and go somewhere cooler in the summer. One Member called himself a "sweatbird", "shadebird" might be another handle!
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Published on November 26, 2018
Comments 13
Category: Retirement Planning
July 25, 2018 -- Note: Last week we reported on the statistical results from our 12 question poll about where members want to retire, and why. (See" When It Comes to Where to Retire, Climate and Weather Rule"). This week we are reprinting a sampling from the hundreds of comments you made to the survey, which reveal a fascinating depth of detail on retirement choices and reasons. We hope you enjoy them as well as find them helpful!
We have arranged the comments into themes where they seemed to fit. The major themes are: Reasons for choosing a retirement area, Particular states/regions chosen and why, and type of community. Each "--" indicates a new comment from a different person. There were
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Published on July 24, 2018
Comments 7
Category: Retirement Planning
July 16, 2018 -- Thanks to the more than 750 members who took the time to contribute their valuable insights to last week's "Where You'll Live and Why" poll. We appreciate you sharing! As promised, here is our first detailed report on the summary for each question. Within the next few days we will publish a second article which will feature the fascinating comments the poll generated.
HighlightsYour input confirms many opinions we hold about retirement preferences in general, along with some surprises. For example, it is not much of a stretch to bet that most of you are interested in retiring to a warm weather clime, with the Southeast (Florida) and Southwest at the top of your preferences. We did not expect to see the level of interest there was in a suburban environment.
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Published on July 16, 2018
Comments 24
Category: Surveys
January 24, 2018 -- The Topretirements.com survey from last week asked 11 questions about your plans or experiences concerning work after retirement. Over 400 members gave back to this community by taking the time to respond (thank you on behalf of everyone who will profit from your investment!). This article will summarize the overall results along with the data for each question. And, since so many people shared their opinions, we have provided you with summary documents where you can read all of the practical ideas, experiences,
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Published on January 24, 2018
Comments 3
Category: Retirement Planning
August 23, 2017 -- There is one very clear conclusion from our latest Member survey, "Selling Your Home and Retirement Planning" - our Members overwhelmingly plan on moving to a different home when they retire. And, they plan on moving on in much greater numbers than does the general population. Some 90% of our recent survey takers said they definitely will sell their home, are thinking about it, or have already sold. That contrasts with just 6% that say they will definitely or probably stay in their current home.
Topretirements' Members itch to move is starkly different from a recent AARP survey, where 90% of people over 65 said they want to remain in their own homes and community as long as possible. For comparison, a Del Webb survey some years back found that about one third of baby boomers plan on moving in retirement.
The Topretirements.com survey from last week asked 10 questions about moving, downsizing, and what kind of home you intend to buy for
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Published on August 23, 2017
Comments 10
Category: Active adult communities
November 9, 2016 -- Many, many thanks to the 756 Topretirements Members who took the the time to fill out our most recent survey on retirement community preferences. You are good people - thanks!
Your input confirms some of our hypotheses and offers fresh perspective on others. One surprise was your favorite amenity - walking trails! You made hundreds of excellent comments to several of the questions - we just wish we had room to highlight every comment because they all offer a unique perspective. Here is one, describing the type of community someone is looking for, that is fairly representative: "Large, walkable, active community with urban area nearby for culture, restaurants etc. A Clubhouse with social clubs will make it easy to make new friends."
Highlights
Everyone has their own unique take on retirement, that much is obvious from these results. That is particularly true if you look at the 327 comments made to Question 10, "Please describe your ideal retirement community". Here are some
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Published on November 8, 2016
Comments 63
