Survey: Many Not Prepared for Retirement

According to a recent survey, many Americans aren’t prepared for retirement. Additionally, the survey found that the current national economic downturn hasn’t done much to change most people’s thinking of retirement. The survey, which was the third Real Life Retirement quarterly survey, was conducted by Charles Schwab.

Here are some of the stats that this survey found:

• 39% of Americans aren’t saving for retirement
• 62% of Americans haven’t changed their retirement outlook in the last year
• 41% of Americans are happy with their retirement planning
• 35% of Americans 18-34 years old are indifferent about retirement

The survey also shows that while people think they need $1.2 million to retire comfortably, the average amount of money saved for retirement is less than $200,000.

Said Mark Jamison, the VP of Charles Schwab: “Bridging the retirement gap is top of mind for many people making the transition toward retirement. Taking concrete steps to make sure your savings can support your retirement should be priority number one, especially for those closest to their target retirement age.”

Charles Schwab - Retirement Survey (Image: Flickr)