Retirement survey has some gloomy results

Retirement isn’t a priority for more than a third of Americans, according to a Bankrate.com survey released Monday.Bankrate said in a news release that its survey found that 36 percent of Americans have not saved a single penny for retirement. The leading offenders are those 18 to 29 years old — 69 percent of them have not saved anything. But they are not alone; even among those in the prime of their careers, savings is not necessarily guaranteed. Among those 30 to 49 years old, 33 percent have not saved for life after work.

Even among those who are theoretically closest to retirement, savings may be out of reach. Bankrate found that more than a quarter — 26 percent — of those 50 to 64 have no retirement savings, while 14 percent of those 65 and older have none.

“Regardless of age, there is no better time than the present to start saving for retirement,” Bankrate.com Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said in the release. “The key to a successful retirement is to save early and aggressively, but even those on the cusp of their golden years should have some money allocated toward equities as opposed to all cash and bonds.”

If there is a silver lining to this retirement black cloud, Bankrate said, it’s that those who are saving are starting earlier. Twice as many of those 30 to 49 started saving in their 20s instead of waiting until their 30s. This compares with 50 to 64 year olds, who were only slightly more likely to have started saving in their 20s rather than waiting until their 30s, and the 65 and older category, where workers were split between starting in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Interestingly, a lack of retirement savings does not seem to be affecting millennials’ optimism. These youngest workers feel more financially secure than any other age group, Bankrate said, both about their jobs and their current financial situation.

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