The Employee Benefits Research Institute and Greenwald & Associates recently released the results of their 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey. Two statistics I found particularly interesting are highlighted from the report below.
Both questions dealt with the action of saving: who has saved money and who is currently saving. A tad perturbing to me is that given the myriad reports over the recent years touting the looming retirement crisis people are facing, these numbers have barely moved!
Yes there are positives: a good majority of Americans do have retirement savings (the negative to counter this is that 53 percent have less than $25,000 saved), and though not past the peak, the levels of those that have savings and continue to save are rising. However, all signs point to a still greater need to convey the high importance of retirement preparedness.
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From the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey
Nearly 7 in 10 workers (69 percent) in the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) report that they or their spouse have saved money for retirement. While this is below the level reported in 2009, when 75 percent reported having saved, it is consistent with levels reported since that time (Figure 1).
Sixty-three percent of workers in the 2016 RCS report that they or their spouse are currently saving for retirement (up from 61 percent in 2015, but still below the 65 percent measured in 2009) (Figure 2).
Workers who have any retirement plan are more likely than those who do not have such a plan to report having personally saved for retirement (88 percent vs. 21 percent).