3 On Your Side: Bankrate Report Finds 36% Of Americans Have No Retirement Savings
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- How much money do you have saved for retirement? If the answer is nothing, you're not alone.
A new report finds that 36 percent of Americans haven't put any money aside for their golden years. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan takes a look at the numbers.
When it comes to retirement savings, more than a third of the country comes up empty handed and hasn't yet saved a penny. A report released by Bankrate.com finds the lack of retirement savings varies by age.
Sixty-nine-percent of 18- to 29-year-olds haven't saved anything for retirement, although they still have time on their side. Thirty-three-percent of 30- to 49-year-olds come up empty handed, too. And 26% of 50 to 64 year olds don't have retirement savings either, which Bankrate's Greg McBride thinks is the scariest statistic of them all.
"Not only do they have to start saving today and do so at a very high rate to make up for all the years they have forgotten, but this idea that, 'Well, I'll just work forever,' is not a viable retirement savings strategy, because you don't control your own destiny on that. When we look at long term unemployment, it's concentrated on adults over age 50," he says.
There is some good news, however. Of those who ARE saving money for retirement, they're starting earlier. Twice as many people in their 30s and 40s started saving in their 20s as opposed to their 30s.
The Bank Rate survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be viewed in entirety here.
