Retirement Dicey for Many Americans

Some retirement facts from Bankrate. First of all, the bad news:

Only about three in 10 workers (28 percent) expect to have enough money to retire comfortably.

Conversely, nearly seven out of 10 Americans have set low expectations about their retirement prospects. The breakdown:

• One-third (33 percent) say they'll have just enough to get by.
• 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.

But there is good news:

Here's a surprise: One out of six Americans have increased their retirement savings as a result of the slumping economy.

Not so shocking was the discovery that the faltering economy has pushed about 15 percent of people in IRAs and workplace retirement plans into lowering their contributions. Meanwhile, three out of four workers (73 percent) kept contributions the same.

But experts are stunned that nearly 16 percent have actually increased the amount they're saving as a result of the current economic downturn.

I'm not surprised by the numbers, but I also think people are a bit pessimistic now because of the economy. That said, most Americans are not great savers, and it's probably true that their retirement will not be what they once hoped for/expected.

Comments

[MonkeyMonk]

Both my wife and I maxed out our retirement withholdings last year. We had both been gotten nice raises and figured we could get away with it without seeing much loss on the take-home pay. We figured now is as good a time as ever to make a big investment in our retirement. We've still got another 15-20 years before we plan to retire so the market can take all the time it needs to recover. In fact, I'd be more than happy to see it keep going down for a while so I can get even more bang for my investment buck.

[Mike Hunt]

Inflation and rising costs are major issues. So is the mounting national debt. The poor are going to get poorer sadly. When I wrote about buying a gun with bullets as a Plan B retirement option I was more than half joking but it's coming to this unfortunately.

-Mike

["Mo" Money]

More and more people are relying on Social Security, and sadly from the statistics SS will probably not be around in the near future. In spite of that fact, people are still not preparing for their retirement.

[Lord]

Social Security will still be able to pay out 78% even if the trust fund is exhausted as most of it is pay as you go. That will still amount to more than current retirees collect. Health care is the real problem. Live a healthy lifestyle because you probably won't be able to afford it.

[Dave]

Social Security may be sticking around for a while, but its not what it used to be. Pensions are quickly disappearing. This puts more and more pressure on individual savings as time goes on. One great way to help grow your personal retirement fund is through workplace retirement savings programs, but half of Americans don't have any access to these. That's why AARP is supporting the use of automatic IRAs in the workplace. This idea is also backed by Congressman Neal of Massachussetts,who's views on auto IRA can be seen on AARP's blog.