Fewer Americans saving for retirement, survey says

A declining percentage of Americans believe they are saving enough for retirement, according to a survey released today by the Consumer Federation of America and the Employee Benefit Research Institute, both of Washington. The survey — of more than 1,000 adults and conducted during the weekend of Feb. 6 — found that 49% of respondents indicated they were saving enough for retirement, down from 52% in 2008. In addition to a decline in the percentage of respondents who said they were saving enough for retirement overall, the survey also found that the proportion of respondents who said they were saving for retirement through workplace programs fell to 51%, from 55% last year. The percentage who reported saving some income fell to 73%, from 74% in the comparable period. The proportion of mortgage holders who expected to pay off their mortgage before retirement fell to 74%, from 76%. The proportion of Americans who owned property and either had no mortgage debt or were paying down debt declined to 62%, from 67%. On the bright side, the percentage of Americans reducing consumer debt rose to 44% this year, from 38% in 2008, while those who said that they had sufficient emergency savings to pay for unexpected expenses rose slightly, from 71% to 72%. Seventy-seven percent were concerned about the impact of the current recession on their personal finances. “For most Americans, to date, recession-related financial concerns have been greater than financial losses,” said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of CFA, in a release. “But tens of millions who still have their jobs and have suffered little or no loss of retirement savings worry that a deepening recession will eventually cost them income or even their jobs,” he said. The survey was conducted by Opinion Research Corp. of Princeton, N.J., for America Saves, which is a national initiative managed by the CFA, and the American Savings Education Council, managed by EBRI. The survey was released as part of the third annual America Saves Week, an event sponsored by the two organizations.