42% of Americans Face Nightmare Retirement

People say they just don't have money to save
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 18, 2018 4:50 PM CDT
42% of Americans Face Nightmare Retirement
A retired man and woman comfort each other in this stock photo.   (Getty Images)

Not saving much for retirement? At least you're not alone: A new survey finds that 42% of Americans have under $10,000 saved up for later years and will likely retire broke, CBS New York reports. The 2018 poll by GoBankingRates.com found that 14% of respondents and 60% of young Americans have saved nothing at all. Among the most cited reasons were "I'm struggling to pay bills," "I don't make enough money to save," and "I'm prioritizing paying down debt." Some ignorance of the "saving" concept may also be at work, suggests Tom Zgainer, CEO of America’s Best 401k: "The amount of people who don’t even know an individual retirement plan is available is astounding," he says.

The survey—which polled 1,000 people from millennials to baby boomers—also found that women were more likely to have less saved up for retirement. But not all news was bad: 16% have $300,000 or more saved up and 10% have between $200,000 and $300,000, Fortune reports. So what to do if you're behind? Motley Fool recommends saving even $50 a month, which will turn into more than $124,000 over 40 years with a 7% annual rate of return. And the matching employer donations in 401k's can create "even bigger gains over time." On another hopeful note, two national studies found that roughly 33% of seniors increased their assets during the first 18 years of retirement, some by simply reducing their spending, Forbes reports. (More retirement stories.)

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