Half Of Investors Plan To Save Their Tax Refund

BOSTON, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — A recent survey of investors by John Hancock Financial found that 52 percent of investors who expect to receive a Federal tax refund will funnel their check into a savings account, while 25 percent plan to pay down debt. Close to one in five (17 percent) say they plan to spend their refund. Only two percent will direct their refund toward their work-related retirement plan.

Half of investors surveyed said they expected to receive a 2014 Federal income tax refund while 29 percent expect to owe taxes.

Of the refund spenders, nearly four in ten (38 percent) plan to spend their tax refund on a vacation, a decrease from last year when 56 percent were headed out on vacation. Twenty percent will devote their refund to basic household needs. Last year, 13 percent said they would treat themselves to a luxury item with their refund money, but this year only five percent plan to do so.

The findings were drawn from the first quarter 2015 John Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey, a quarterly poll of affluent investors. The survey measures investors’ feelings about the current economic climate and their evaluations of what represents a good or bad investment given the current environment. The poll also asks consumers about their confidence in reaching key financial goals and likelihood of purchasing financial products and services.

About the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey
This online survey was conducted by independent research firm Greenwald & Associates. A total of 1,049 investors were surveyed from February 9^th to February 20th, 2015. To qualify, respondents were required to participate at least to some extent in their household’s financial decision-making process, have a household income of at least $75,000, and assets of $100,000 or more. The data were weighted by age and education to reflect the population of Americans matching the survey’s qualification requirements. In a similarly-sized random sample survey, the margin of error would be plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. 

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Assets under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$691 billion (US$596 billion) as at December 31, 2014. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

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SOURCE John Hancock Financial