NOTE: Spam Comment Bots discovered the original post and have been bombarding it with spam. Therefore, this is a repost.
This post originally went out in October, 2015.
I was recently listening to the Stacking Benjamins’ pod cast “Can’t Save for Retirement? Here’s Your Answer.“ It was mentioned that a percentage of Americans are not saving for retirement, or not enough. I don’t remember the amount, but I was amazed.
With that, I did a quick internet search, and found other sources citing numbers that few Americans are saving for retirement.
- According to Forbes.com, 68% of Americans are not saving in an employer-sponsored plan. (Article)
- Per a BankRate.com article, 36% of persons surveyed indicated that they were not saving for retirement. The article even cites that Americans nearing retirement age have not begun putting away money, for their years after working. (Article)
- A USNews.com article indicates that almost 50% of Americans are not saving enough for retirement. (Article)
- USAToday.com reports that 36% of Americans do not have anything saved for retirement. (Article)
That was just 4 articles in my quick search, and there’s many more behind those. Many more, sad, articles. Sad articles about the numbers of folks that aren’t putting money way, for the years after work is done.
I was one of those folks, many years ago. My folks didn’t teach me about investing, or saving for retirement. I lucked into it, in that my profession was in education, and in Texas, where we had to participate in the state retirement system. That was the beginning, but later I learned about investing, and my wife and I started socking money away.
We didn’t know how much, but we made it a habit. We made sure that a percentage of each of our checks went into retirement savings. As the years rolled by, we were able to put more away, so we did. I wish that we’d put more away sooner, but at least we put money away; enough to retire in our mid-fifties, and we’re loving it. We don’t live lavishly, but we’re living nicely.
We have two children, both in their 30’s. I’ve been trying to get them to get serious about retirement investing. Our son and his wife have state and county jobs, where they have retirement plans. The daughter and her husband have non-government jobs, so they aren’t in mandated retirement plans. I don’t have any idea how any of them are doing, but I’m praying that they are putting money away. Believe me, I’m going to keep asking and pushing.
It’s not too late to look into retirement plans. There are many options out there. Don’t know how much you’re going to need? There are calculators and other resources. I recommend Ken Fisher’s 15-Minute Retirement Guide is a quick easy read, with great info. Fisher’s Plan Your Prosperity is also a great resource, which also helped clarify our retirement plans. Betterment’s RetireGuide is just one retirement planning tool, to help determine retirement needs and investing plans.
Are you part of the percentage not putting money away? If so, how can you not save for the future? What are you going to live on? With all the resources that are available, you owe it to yourself to provide for a comfortable retirement.
If you’re not going to be part of the percentage of non-savers, what are you going to do to prepare for your future?
Really important topic, especially for those who are in their 20s and 30s and dealing with debt. Debt makes it seem impossible to save for retirement, but I’m in the camp that thinks we should simultaneously pay off debt while saving for retirement. I’ve been putting a little away each paycheck since graduating college, and I was lucky to have gainful employment. Those who are barely getting by and don’t necessarily have the solid job yet are going to have little incentive or motivation to worry about retirement. I think millennials in particular need to be the generation that educates their children and helps them not get in as much student loan debt.
I was fortunate in that I was able to earn my two degrees with no debt. Mom and Dad paid for the first, I cash flowed my Masters. I was also lucky to go into a field that had mandatory retirement contributions, even with that, we knew it wasn’t going to be enough, so we started saving and investing. Although I didn’t have any school debt, we did rack up quite a bit over the years. Got tired of it and knocked it down. My kids were fortunate in that I shared my thoughts on money. Probably not early enough, but soon enough that they don’t have much debt. You are SO right about the need to provide financial literacy education. I guess there might be some degrees that cannot be earned without debt, but I believe most can. When counseling at the Junior College I was amazed at the amounts that students were taking out, and what they were spending the money on.
I can definitely see how those with debt believe that they just don’t have anything to put away for the future. They’re living in the Here and Now, focusing on their current needs, and many times their wants. You’ve provided a great resource in your book. Just goes to show that one can find ways to make money. A young friend of mine donated Plasma on a regular basis while in college. I never would have thought of that.
I’m not having to play catch up in my 40s because I wasn’t saving enough, especially during my time as a freelancer where I basically saved nothing. I wish more young people would take heed. However, in doing some research I found that I’m actually doing OK…even way better than my peers with retirement savings. That both makes me happy and scares the you know what out of me that so many people are that far behind.
Tonya, at least your working on catching up. I gather that some just don’t make it a priority. Good to hear that you’re doing okay in your progress. That’s gotta take some weight off of your back. I haven’t done great with my finances, but I’ve done alright. Sure wish folks like you were around when I was your age to teach me. OH, the internet wasn’t around back then!! We gotta figure out how to get the message out to younger folks; I’m thinking middle and high school level. I’m brainstorming some ideas, any suggestions would be appreciated. All the best!!