Survey Finds Americans not Prepared for Retirement
This entry was posted on 6/24/2008 4:06 PM and is filed under wealth marketing.
NEW YORK, June 23, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. shows that more and more Americans are concerned about their retirement
prospects. The poll, conducted by GfK Roper as part of Bankrate's
Financial Literacy series on retirement, reveals that retirement is a
growing concern amid tumultuous financial times for Americans.
Key findings about the concerns of the 1,004 Americans polled include:
- Only 28 percent say that they will be able to retire comfortably.
One-third (33 percent) say they'll have just enough finances to get by
when retired.
- Seven out of 10 say that they have set low expectations about their retirement prospects.
- Nearly two out of 10 (17 percent) say they will not have enough money to retire without worrying.
- Nineteen percent say they are afraid they'll never be able to retire.
Not all Americans are finding themselves in despair when figuring
out how they'll be able to retire, however. In spite of economic
concerns, 16 percent of those polled opted to raise their contributions
to their retirement fund. The vast majority of those polled have
continued to see the value in a retirement fund, with only 8 percent
opting to stop contributions altogether.
"Retirement is something that everyone needs to plan for," said
Julie Bandy, editor in chief at Bankrate.com. "In difficult economic
times, it's important now more than ever to plan intelligently. The
long-term benefits of keeping an active retirement fund far outweigh
the short-term gains of not investing."
