Retirement Crisis Looms as Study Reveals Most Americans Struggle to Save for Retirement

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - June 9, 2014 - PRLog -- Americans are facing a retirement crisis “of epic proportions”, according to financial consultant Keith Springer at www.KeithSpringer.com. Springer's prediction follows a CBS news poll which found that seven of 10 Americans who haven't retired yet find it hard to save for retirement while also paying the bills and meeting their basic living expenses, a new CBS News poll shows. Not surprisingly, those earning less are having more difficulty setting money aside. More than 80 percent of people making less than $50,000 a year say it’s hard to keep up with bills and save for retirement at the same time, and half say it is very hard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPmWzJjwn_0



“The majority of Americans simply do not have nearly enough money saved up for retirement,” says Springer. “Nor is the money that they have saved invested properly so it will be there and enough for those golden years.”

According to the telephone poll of more than 1,000 adults throughout the U.S., more than 60 percent of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year say it’s hard to save for retirement.  As of 2010, just over half of private-sector workers had access to a retirement plan at work, according to Demos, a liberal-leaning public policy think-tank.  Meanwhile, data from the National Institute on Retirement Security shows that the median retirement account balance for all working-age households in the U.S. is $3,000, and $12,000 for families where earners are approaching retirement.

Signs that many people are struggling to put money away for their golden years coincides with another key shift in the retirement landscape: Many more Americans expect to work later in life.  Just over half of those polled say they plan to retire at or before age 65, the traditional retirement age, down from 67 percent in 2005. Indeed, the percentage of Americans who expect to hit their seventies before they retire has nearly tripled over the last nine years, according to CBS News.

If there is a more positive note in the survey findings, it's that more people seem to appreciate the importance of planning for retirement. Fifty-nine percent of Americans who are not yet retired, including more than two-thirds of those 30 and older, report having started to save money for retirement. Who isn't saving? Chiefly young adults, and most workers making less than $50,000 a year.
Springer, founder of Springer Financial Advisors, a firm that manages more than $200 million in retirement assets, says the challenge to save money is eroding Americans' confidence that they will be financially prepared to retire. “The bottom line: it’s more important than ever to work with a qualified retirement advisor when you enter that retirement red-zone”, said Springer.