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Econwatch
March 9, 2010 11:55 AM

Americans Not Ready for Retirement

By
Daniel Carty
Topics
Retirement

(Credit: CBS/iStockphoto)
More Americans say they're unprepared for retirement and are planning to stay in the workforce longer to compensate, according to a survey released Tuesday. 

The Employment Benefit Research Institute's study found the percentage of working households that have saved for retirement dropped to 69 percent in 2010, down from 75 percent a year ago. The number of workers and/or their spouses currently setting aside money for retirement dropped to 60 percent from 65 percent in 2009.

But the truly eye-opening numbers in the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey are the percentage of Americans with little or no savings set aside for retirement - 27 percent report having less than $1,000 in savings, 43 percent say they have less than $10,000 set aside, and more than half (54 percent) have less than $25,000 saved.

It's no surprise, then, that U.S. workers are pushing back the retirement goal line. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) report delaying their retirement in the last year, with most of those reporting an economic or finance-related reason. And 33 percent of workers expect to retire after age 65, triple the number back in 1991.

"Americans' attitudes toward retirement have clearly tracked the economy the last couple of years, and that seems to be the case in 2010," Jack VanDerhei, EBRI's research director, said in a statement.

In all, just 16 percent of workers feel very confident they'll have financial security in retirement, which is near the survey's 20-year low. Among current retirees, 19 percent report feeling very confident in their financial situation.

Ignorance about how much money it will take for a comfortable retirement underlies these numbers. Less than half of American workers (46 percent) have calculated what their financial goals for retirement should be.

The survey, conducted with market research firm Mathew Greenwald and Associates, consisted of phone interviews with 1,153 Americans 25 or older.


Add a Comment See all 39 Comments
by ajvw March 10, 2010 8:01 AM EST
"But the truly eye-opening numbers in the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey are the percentage of Americans with little or no savings set aside for retirement - 27 percent report having less than $1,000 in savings, 43 percent say they have less than $10,000 set aside, and more than half (54 percent) have less than $25,000 saved."

not to worry. the government will steal the money from the responsible and give it to the irresponsible. after all, it's the socialist way
Reply to this comment
by jc80013-01 March 9, 2010 6:05 PM EST
Man am I glad one of those liberal Presidents wasn't in office those eight years before Obama, the last one of those left us with one of them damn surpluses. It took a great conservative to get rid of that and replace it with a trillion dollar deficit. So can someone tell me the definitions of conservative and liberal? I am so confused.
Reply to this comment
by Lifeson2112 March 9, 2010 6:16 PM EST
There was no surplus. It was an accounting trick. This has been proven countless times. The debate is over on that one. Sorry.
by army166 March 9, 2010 5:53 PM EST
'Somebody' is saving. Individual savings deposits for the country jumped over 25% since Dec 2008, from 3.9 trillion to 4.1 trillion $. That is probably the biggest increase in savings since the 50's.
Reply to this comment
by askagain March 9, 2010 5:00 PM EST
"Americans Not Ready for Retirement" - Perhaps not, but think about the cell phones you have to have, the cable TV bill each month, those great vacations, the third or fourth car, that extra dog or cat, the internet service bill, and of course the membership to a health club. And how many people spent the equity in their homes? Is it any wonder why so many people are broke and have no retirement savings.
Reply to this comment
by formrusmcsgt March 9, 2010 4:54 PM EST
27 percent report having less than $1,000 in savings
---
What percentage of those have credit cards?
Reply to this comment
by starving1968-3 March 9, 2010 4:43 PM EST
by Empire-George- March 9, 2010 3:30 PM EST
by starving1968-3 March 9, 2010 2:52 PM EST

Hey Starvin' Marvin'.....maybe you will believe Lake Erie's local news.

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100210/NEWS02/302099905

2010 (frozen over) minus 1995 (Last year frozen over) = 15 years

Do you need some help with elementary school math ?







I don't need to see a website - I WENT TO THE LAKE AND SAW IT FOR MYSELF! I went down the I-190 heading south, to Fuhrman Blvd over the Skyway Bridge which is at least 150 feet in the air, and you can see miles and miles of open water past the ice along the shore. The ice boom is getting ready to come out earlier than ever according to the local meterologist Don Paul on wivb.com.

It IS NOT frozen over - it's 2/3 OPEN WATER as we speak!

So take your Rush Limbaugh / newsmax / breitbart fabricated weather forecast, and pound it up your Glenn Beck. You were lied to - once again.
Reply to this comment
by billpl-2009 March 9, 2010 4:00 PM EST
why save money??

....the democrats keep giving it away
Reply to this comment
by Robstah888 March 9, 2010 4:04 PM EST
I think YOU really mean:

"why save money??

....the democrats will just give it to me cause I'm good for nothing"
by livvy500 March 9, 2010 3:22 PM EST
Many of us did save and watched that money dribble away as our paychecks couldn't keep up with the cost of living.

We also have many social changes. Few manage to stay married to the same person all their life and divorce can be devastating financially. Women often raise families on their own allowing little chance to put much away. It is harder for kids to make it on their own and takes longer for many to get financially stable enough to afford the high cost of rent and other expenses. Many of us are sandwiched between helping with grandchildren and aging parents.

and then there are the simple economic realities of things like housing. I paid $100 per month for a darling little three bedroom house when I moved on my own in 1972. That house now rents for $1350 per month but guess what? I went to college, have a satisfying job and make about three to four times as much as I made back then. Something didn't keep up and it has nothing to do with the taxes I pay. I have paid the same taxes through Republicans and Democrats. Something else went wrong.
Reply to this comment
by Robstah888 March 9, 2010 3:22 PM EST
People are such idiots... The saying is "buy low, sell high" We just saw the markets when they were very LOW... I can hear the morons: "duhhhhh my 401ks dun gonna go into negative balance, better sell while the sellins good, Pa."

You people shouldve been buying... anything... virtually anything. Now I'm thinking about retiring at 49. HAHAHAHAHAHA
Reply to this comment
by Robstah888 March 9, 2010 4:11 PM EST
I worked hard in school and I work hard now. I'd say karma has rewarded me nicely.
by bluedenmant March 15, 2010 10:29 PM EDT
Anyone with a 401K more than likely knew better and didn't panic but left things alone if they were diversified properly. People aren't the idiots you'd like to make them out to be. However, you've shown just how smug you can be. That's for sure. The laugh's on you, Mr. Robstah888. Why? Because kharma also has a way of knocking people down to size when the become, well, too smug.
by wfw3536 March 9, 2010 3:20 PM EST
When Obama gets done spending 2 trillion on health care, and his budget for the next several years include 9 trillion of more debt, most people will be lucky to have any money. If we do have dollars they will be like money from 3rd world countries where it isn't worth the paper it is written on.
Reply to this comment
by Robstah888 March 9, 2010 3:26 PM EST
Just keep repeating "2 trillion, 9 trillion" youll look like you know what your talking about.
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