More than half of workers are currently saving for retirement, but many of them acknowledge that they’re not saving enough to feel secure in their ability to retire comfortably.
A new survey from the Employee Benefits Research Institute finds that 47 percent of workers have less than $25,000 saved for retirement, and nearly a quarter have saved less than $1,000.
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In order to make up for the shortfall in their nest eggs, 57 percent of workers said they’re planning to work longer and retire later; 54 percent said they’ll save more later; and 54 percent said they’ll live on less in retirement.
In the meantime, many people are failing to take some basic steps to prepare for their financial future. Just 40 percent have tried to calculate how much they’ll actually need in retirement, and only a third have estimated their retirement expenses.
That may be why 30 percent of workers said that they feel emotionally or mentally stressed about preparing for retirement, and another 30 percent say that they worry about their personal finances while they’re at work.
Overall, 60 percent of workers said that they were confident in their ability to retire, down from 64 percent who said the same in 2016. In addition to a low savings rate, workers who have debt or who don’t have a retirement plan at work are more likely to lack confidence in their ability to retire.
