Portfolio in the News

A New Gap Analysis: Meaning, Money and Maturity

MetLife Institute Releases Report on Happiness, Aging Boomers

People who are the most content focus on the non-financial essentials in their lives, even during difficult economic times, according to a new study.

Living the "good life" for middle-aged and older Americans is equated with spending time with family and friends, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute's latest study, Discovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning.

The three most important elements of happiness, according to the study, are having health, a financial safety net and the time to do what is important to them. It also lends quantitative data to back up the old adage that money can't buy happiness

The MetLife report, based on interviews with more than 1,000 Americans between ages 45 and 74, explores what brings contentment to people in the second half of life. Its lead author was Richard Leider, a life coach and executive educator and author.

It was released in January 2009.

Respondents, regardless of financial status, maintain that their goals are primarily meaning-based. Further, older respondents focus less on wealth accumulation and more on health and well-being, compared to younger respondents.

Discovering What Matters is accompanied by a workbook and DVD with self-assessment tools, advice and resources. With information on how people can "repack their bags" for life's journey, these tools are designed to help people let go of "the way things used to be" and to empower them to create new goals for what lies ahead.

The materials will also help them adapt to life's inevitable transitions, both positive and negative. With worksheets and a series of questions relating to lifestyle, environment, health status, finances, relationships and community, people can reset their priorities and learn to achieve a life of purpose and fulfillment.

The contents of the workbook were developed by Richard Leider, and are based on his book, Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life.

"Living the good life is not as closely equated with material wealth and physical comfort as traditionally believed,” said Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. "We found that people who have meaningful work, time to socialize, personal interests and travel, and care for their physical and spiritual health, are more likely to have contentment and purpose in their lives. Having enough money to be comfortable remains important as well, but it's not the only, or even most important, focus. This may inspire Americans to do some life planning beyond finances."

Richard Leider adds, "The good life is an integration of various components in a person's life for which each component enables the next. Living the "good life" means living in the place you "belong," with the people you love, doing work that benefits others. Given that people today are living longer, planning for the purpose that they will want to achieve later in life is essential."

The study data breaks down a number of false notions:

• The Good Life equals material wealth. Asked to select from a list of 13 activities that contribute to living a purposeful life, respondents were most likely to select spending time with friends/family (86%) and taking care of their physical self (63%). Purpose-driven activities become increasingly important as people age.

• Happiness is the absence of misfortune. Over the years, most people experience one or more negative "trigger events" such as serious illness, the death of a friend/family member and/or a major financial loss. In fact, 59% of the respondents experienced at least one such negative trigger event over the past 12 months. Positive events, such as the birth of a grandchild or getting a new job, can serve as trigger events. Most trigger events are not under a person’s control, but Americans who live the good life are able to regain happiness through the meaning in their lives.

• The Good Life is more of one thing. The good life comes from balance and alignment of financial security, health and meaningful activity. This usually means "lightening one's load" by doing away with burdens that lead to unnecessary and/or unproductive activity.

According to the findings, there are five basic types of people defined by the value they place on the core components in their lives - money, medicine, meaning and place:

1. 1) The Balanced Givers
2. 2) The Meaning-Minded
3. 3) The Balanced Individualists
4. 4) The Financially Focused
5. 5) The Hyper-Individualists

The highest percentage of those who say they are living the good life are the Meaning-Minded; they are willing to give up money for meaning. The Financially Focused may have a strong vision for the future and engagement in meaningful "work" that provides purpose and fulfillment, but are least likely to say they are at the good life level.

Methodology
A consumer panel of 1,001 individuals between the ages of 45 and 74 participated in the online survey conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey, a global custom market research and consulting firm. Members of the panel were invited to participate in the survey via email between August and October 2008. Respondents had a minimum household income of $50K or more a year ($25K or more a year if they were retired), and investable assets of $50K or more. These are approximately the average incomes for the U.S. population in those categories. They were categorized into three age groups: age 45-54 (n=333), age 55-64 (n=335), and age 65-74 (n=333). Other demographics were collected as well.

The MetLife Mature Market Institute®
Established in 1997, the Mature Market Institute (MMI) is MetLife’s center on aging and longevity. MMI’s groundbreaking research, gerontology expertise, national partnerships, and educational materials work to expand the knowledge and choices for those in, approaching, or caring for those in the mature market.

MMI supports MetLife’s long-standing commitment to identifying emerging issues and innovative solutions for the challenges of life. MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. MET, is celebrating 140 years and is a leading provider of insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers.

This article was prepared and released January 13, 2009 by the MetLife Mature Market Institute: www.maturemarketinstitute.com

Discovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning is available at www.maturemarketinstitute.com under "What’s New.” To order a copy of the printed version of the study, write: MetLife Mature Market Institute, 57 Greens Farms Road, Westport, CT 06880. A workbook and DVD packet (single copies are free) are also available.

Shalana Morris, 212-578-1115/snmorris@metlife.com
or Joseph Madden, 212-578-3021/jmadden@metlife.com