Study finds community expects good gain in 2011 

While only 35 percent of all Americans expected their personal financial situation to improve in 2010 from 2009, more than half (57 percent) of South Asian Americans expect their personal situation to improve this year, according to the 2010 MetLife Study of the American Dream.

South Asian Americans are also significantly less likely than Americans overall to believe that there is more risk to their family's financial future than in the past (43 percent compared with 70 percent of all Americans). These results are reported nearly two years after the start of the economic downturn.

A similar number of South Asian Americans (35 percent) and Americans overall (34 percent) report that they have achieved the American dream. However, South Asian Americans who have not achieved the dream are much more optimistic than their peers about their possibilities of achieving it in their lifetime.

Ninety percent of South Asian Americans believe that it is possible to achieve the American dream — significantly more than the 70 percent of Americans overall who report the same.

"With good reason, South Asian Americans are more optimistic than the overall population about their personal financial situation," said John Derbick, assistant vice president of global brand and marketing services at MetLife. "The study shows that more people in this group have a personal safety net in place, which appears to be an important prerequisite for achieving and sustaining the American dream."

Strong Personal Safety Nets

This optimism may stem from a strong sense of financial security among South Asian Americans. Nearly six in 10 (59 percent) say they have an adequate personal safety net, compared with just 31 percent of Americans overall. A personal safety net is defined by those polled as a "cash cushion" with retirement savings as well as auto, health, home and life insurance.

Further, while almost half (47 percent) of Americans have credit card debt that they don't pay off in full each month, less than one-third (30 percent) of South Asian Americans say the same.

And, while many Americans still find themselves close to financial ruin should they lose their job — 45 percent could not take care of expenses for more than a month and 65 percent could not do so for more than three months — the concern is less for South Asian Americans. Twenty-eight percent of South Asian Americans report that they could not take care of expenses for more than a month, and 59 percent say they could not do so for more than three months.

"Family Net" Emerges

In addition, a significant number of Americans are helping their family members financially. Forty-seven percent of Americans overall and 48 percent of South Asian Americans say they have given money to a family member in the past year so they can pay their bills. At the same time, 35 percent of the general public and 32 percent of South Asians have had a family member give them money in the past year.

Dream Defined in Financial Terms

Though all Americans define the dream first and foremost as "financial security," South Asian Americans are slightly more likely (26 percent) than the overall population (22 percent) to describe the dream in financial terms.

They are also much more likely (63 percent) than the overall population (31 percent) to equate the dream with "a successful career."

South Asian Americans are also more likely than Americans overall to feel strong pressure to increase material possessions, despite a challenging economy. Six in ten (60 percent) South Asian Americans say that the pressure to buy more and better material possessions is greater than ever, more than double the number of Americans overall who report the same (29 percent). Over one-third (37 percent) of South Asian Americans say that achieving the American dream is about improving the quality of life by increasing personal possessions, versus 23 percent of Americans overall. And, 65 percent of South Asian Americans feel like the bar is constantly rising in terms of the basic necessities of life, versus 58 percent of all Americans.

Like Most Americans, More Stress at Work

While significantly more South Asians equate the dream with a successful career, many are more concerned about job security than other Americans. Two thirds of employed South Asian Americans (66 percent) are concerned about losing their job in the next year as a result of the current economic environment, compared to 55 percent of the general population. Many of these respondents also say they have taken on more responsibility at work and are more stressed about performing all the tasks their job requires. Sixty-nine percent of employed South Asian Americans report taking on more responsibility, compared with 56 percent of the overall population, while 63 percent of South Asian Americans say they are more stressed at work, versus 52 percent of the general public.

However, optimism still prevails. Of those who are unemployed, 78 percent (versus 55 percent Americans overall) say that they are optimistic about their future job prospects. The 2010 MetLife Study of the American Dream uses data from 2,201 online surveys in the United States. Roughly half (52 percent) of the study participants were Caucasian, 18 percent African American, 9 percent Hispanic and 19 percent Asian Americans.

MetLife Inc. is a provider of insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, which is headquartered in New York, reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States.