Retirement & Financial Planning Report

High Percentages Not Sure if They’re on Track for Retirement

Percentages of those who believe they are on track for retirement increase with each successively higher age group but even among the oldest group just more than a third are confident.

A report from Think Tank Research found that only 22 percent of those under age 30 consider themselves on track, 13 percent not on track and 65 percent not sure. Among those 30-44, the percentages are 25, 22 and 53 percent, respectively; among those 45-54 they are 29, 26 and 46, and among those 55 and up, 36, 23 and 41 percent.

“The problem of retirement under-preparedness continues to be systemic, with insufficient percentages of virtually all demographic groups saying they are on track for a comfortable retirement,” it said.

It said employees not prepared fall into two broad categories: those who don’t know if they are saving enough and don’t have the resources or don’t know where to begin; and those who have taken some retirement planning steps and realize they are not saving enough–but can’t or aren’t likely to save more “due to other competing priorities.”

It said that among the large segments of those who don’t know, getting a retirement projection resolves the issue in many cases. Especially helpful in planning, it said, is getting such projections on a regular basis.

Similarly, those who got a financial wellness assessment were more likely to make progress toward savings goals such as getting a handle on their cash flow, creating an emergency fund, managing debt and investing toward retirement.

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