Study: Saving for College or Retirement?

One of the most difficult aspects for parents when saving is how to juggle the need to save for their children’s college education and their retirement. A new study by Opinion Research Corporation, which was conducted on behalf of Edward Jones, shed some light on the habits of American parents.

• 29% of parents save equally for retirement and college

• 31% of parents favor one over the other

• 26% of parents aren’t saving for retirement or college

• 22% of parents save only for retirement

• 9% of parents save only for college

• 27% of women are saving equally

• 29% of women aren’t saving for either

Greg Dosmann of Edward Jones sees good and bad in these numbers.

Said Dosmann: “It’s encouraging that close to a third of those surveyed recognize the need to save for both because, for more and more people, retirement and paying for college are simultaneous events. Unfortunately, it appears far too many people haven’t yet adopted strategies to meet both goals. And it’s complicated by the happy fact that people are living longer and the sobering fact that the cost of college is increasing far faster than the rate of inflation.”

Edward Jones (Image: Flickr)