Revealed: Biggest financial mistakes by 'mature adults' in UAE

You get wiser as your hair greys, but many adults, mature people sometimes, make the silliest financial mistakes.

Some of these date back decade or so, but bite when we are past the best earning-potential years.

According to a new survey by deVere Group, an independent financial advisory, so-called mature adults, in their 50s or so, have their share of financial regrets and mistakes they wish they could undo.

The findings are based on the responses of more than 750 clients over the age of 50, polled in various countries including the UAE, UK, the US, South Africa, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

As expected, on top of the list is not having a healthy retirement fund.

The survey findings show that those over 50 years of age reveal their number one financial mistake as not saving enough for their retirement.

Thirty-four of those polled cited not putting enough aside for retirement was their biggest financial error.

“It’s with a depressing predictability that this survey concludes that more than a third of the over-50s feel that they have not accumulated enough funds.

“The harsh reality is that unless there’s a seismic cultural shift in attitudes towards savings, many more people will reach the age of retirement and realise that there is just not enough in their pension pots to last throughout their retirement, or enough to enable them to enjoy the retirement they had envisaged.

“Putting money aside for later in life has never been more important. This is because life expectancy is increasing, meaning the funds have to last perhaps two decades longer than even a generation ago; living, care and medical costs will, naturally, all increase over time; interest rates and annuities are at rock bottom; and it is highly improbable that the State will be able to financially support retirees in the future as it has done previously,” says the survey.

Second on the list was the decision and the belief that they could manage finances on their own.

Twenty-seven per cent of the respondents said they believed they could successfully manage their financial affairs without professional advice only to regret later.

Besides this, 19 per cent claimed it was letting emotions rule over investment decisions.

Experts say that when it comes to investment decisions perhaps the worst distraction of all is our own brain.

Investment should be an unemotional decision and when one makes the mistake of lining it up with emotional blind spots, the probability of errors is highly likely with only regrets left at a later stage.

Lack of diversification in portfolios is another financial mistake that most make - as said by 11 per cent of the respondents.

Putting all your eggs in one basket is risky and foolish. Those who invest in different asset classes come out financially stronger than those who fail to.

Another 7 per cent said their financial mistake was not getting adequate insurance cover leaving them to the many financial insecurities and risks that come with investing in any kind of asset class.

Just 2 per cent of those polled did not know what their regrets were.

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