Forty-Two Percent Of Americans Struggle To Save For Retirement

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GoBankingRates recently conducted two studies to explore what Americans are setting aside for retirement savings as well as why Americans might not be saving at all. Both reported findings that have troubling outlooks on retirement especially for the millennial generation.

The first study used three different targeted Google Consumer Surveys to find out how much the average American has saved for retirement. The surveys found that 42 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved which according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not enough to cover a year’s worth of expenses. Of these same 42 percent, 14 percent of respondents have nothing saved; this, however, has improved from 18.9 percent a year ago.

This study also found that results varied dramatically by age, with older Americans slightly better at saving. Those most likely to have nothing saved are the Millennials of which 57 percent report having $10,000 or less for retirement. Furthermore, 18 percent of this same group, millennials ages 18 to 34 have the highest percentage of respondents with $0 saved.

When it comes to money saved for retirement, women and men have a nearly equal percentage when looking at those who have no retirement savings. However, survey results show that women continue to lag behind men when viewing the results of those who have saved $10,000 or less. The survey found that 45 percent of women have no savings or $10,000 or less, compared with 40 percent of men.

The second study conducted looked at why Americans are not saving by creating a separate survey of more than 1,000 adults who had no money saved. These respondents chose from a variety of answers regarding what factors lead them not to save for retirement. About 40 percent of respondent said, “I don’t make enough money,” and 25 percent stated, “I’m struggling to pay bills.”

Although the most common reason for not saving among all age groups was not making enough money, the millennial generation was more likely to say they do not have retirement saving because “I’m prioritizing to pay down debt” and “job doesn’t offer a plan.” Meanwhile, findings show that 43 percent of women are more likely to report that they are not saving for retirement because they do not make enough money compared to men, at 36 percent. This study concludes that this “may help explain the gap in retirement savings between women and men that the other survey found.”

For more details about these studies go to: https://www.gobankingrates.com/retirement/planning/why-americans-will-retire-broke/

While the findings of these surveys are troubling in general, employees that work prevailing wage projects should be in a better position to accrue retirement savings.