FINANCIAL FACTs
Approximately two-thirds of Americans have less than $100,000 saved for retirement, according to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and 26% of those people have less than $1,000 stashed away.
However, most workers aren't making any moves to save more. In fact, only 29% of U.S. adults say they increased their retirement fund contributions this year compared to last year, a survey from Bankrate found. The most common reason survey participants gave for not saving more, though, might be surprising.
Among those who haven't increased their savings rate, the most common reason workers gave was that they feel comfortable with their current savings. Older workers were more likely to feel this way than younger workers, which isn't necessarily a surprise since older workers likely have more saved. But just because people are feeling confident about their savings doesn't necessarily mean they're on track to retire comfortably.
If you have hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed for retirement, you might be confident that you've got plenty of cash to last the rest of your life. But your golden years might be more expensive than you expect, and today's workers will need to work harder to prepare for retirement than previous generations did.
Pensions are virtually nonexistent these days, and the average Social Security check comes out to just $1,471 per month -- or $17,652 per year. There's also a chance that benefits might be reduced in the next couple of decades, as baby boomers are retiring by the thousands and living longer, and the Social Security Administration is facing a cash shortage.
(Source: Fool)
