Cathie Ramey
RedwoodAge.com
Yet another major financial study is showing that boomers are lost when it comes to saving for retirement.
The American Retirement Study, sponsored by Scottrade and BetterInvesting, found that while 40 percent of those between 45 and 60 are saving more because of their financial worries, more than half don't believe they've saved enough.
| What are you doing to ease financial worry? | 2008 | 2007 |
| Nothing Spend Less Pay Down Debt Limit Credit Cards Save More Work More Get New Job |
17% 83% 49% 41% 38% 22% 20% |
10% 90% 55% 49% 45% 30% 25% |
Some 38 percent aren't even sure how much they should have saved, and nearly a quarter have less than $25,000 saved so far.
Slightly more than 40 percent of Americans over 55 wish they could have saved more.
This is the third recent study that points to a disturbing trend of uncertainty and anxiety for boomers.
A recent Wells Fargo/Gallup study showed nearly half of small business owners don't believe they can afford to retire and that 90 percent of them plan to keep working after the traditional retirement age.
A separate study by KeyBank and Zogby showed that even relatively affluent boomers aren't certain how much retirement savings is enough.
"Everyone knows they should be putting money away for retirement," said Chris Moloney of Scottrade. However, he noted that "57 percent of all Americans plan to put away less than 5 percent of their income in 2008, and 28 percent don't expect to save anything."
Wasting Windfalls
Even a small windfall of $5,000 is more likely to be used to pay down debt
(48 percent) or placed in a savings account (32 percent) than deposited in an
IRA or other retirement account (15 percent). Three percent said they would go
on a shopping spree.
While Americans are concerned about saving for retirement, they are also worried about their present financial situation. Bonnie Reyes, president of BetterInvesting notes, "It's hard to think about retirement when day-to-day expenses become a priority."
