Few Americans Are Saving More for Retirement
NEW YORK -- Only 18% of working Americans are saving more for retirement than they were one year ago, says Bankrate.com Financial Security Index. And, 17% are saving less and 54% are saving about the same.
Bankrate.com, which commissioned similar surveys in August 2011 and August 2012, finds this year's results nearly identical to last year's. There has been some improvement since 2011 when 29% of working Americans were saving less for retirement than in 2010, it said. Employed Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 are the most likely of all ages to be saving less this year than last.
"This is troubling considering the availability of catch-up contributions for those 50 and up, as well as the higher 2013 contribution limits for all eligible IRA and 401(k) contributors," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.
Upper-middle-income households are another trouble spot: 21% are saving less for retirement than last year and only 14% are saving more.
Overall, the Bankrate.com Financial Security Index is down for a second straight month, but at 100.5, it is clinging to a level above 100 that indicates improved financial security versus a year ago. The index has stayed above 100 for six consecutive months.
Readings slipped on all five components in August (job security, net worth, debt, savings and overall financial situation). Four of the five, however, are still showing improvement over the past year. Savings remains the weak link, those saying they're less comfortable outnumbering the more comfortable by a margin of nearly two-to-one. Consumers have voiced negative sentiment on savings in every month since polling began in Dec. 2010.
Following what Bankrate.com considers this month's disappointing unemployment report, job security among the highest-income households (annual income greater than $75,000) turned negative compared with one year ago.
Bankrate is a publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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