Americans Concerned About Stretching Savings

May 4, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Americans are more concerned about stretching their savings than actually saving for retirement, according to a recent poll.

According to the poll of working Americans aged 50-70, half are concerned about making their retirement savings last a lifetime, while 38% are worried about saving enough for retirement, according to a poll of 500 registered voters conducted by Washington,DC-based consultant, Mellman Group and sponsored by Americans for Secure Retirement.

The poll also found that more than two-thirds of older American voters are concerned about maintaining their living standard throughout retirement, and nearly half (48%) say they are more concerned about this than when they first retired.

Fifty-nine percent of older Americans surveyed said Congress should create an incentive for people to make their savings last a lifetime, perhaps by creating a program that would allow for annuity payments.

According to the survey, more than 88 million working Americans are not enrolled in any kind of employee retirement plan and Social Security covers only 42% of pre-retirement income. And even those that do get employer pensions, 43% worry that they will never see their full benefit.

Among the other key findings of the poll were that a majority of working Americans age 50-70 are more concerned with:

  • Making their savings last a lifetime (50%), than with saving a significant amount of money before retirement (38%)
  • Maintaining their living standard (66% concerned and 33% very concerned)
  • Not having enough money to take care of medical and long-term care expenses throughout retirement (71% concerned, 35% very concerned).

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