More Than a Third of Americans Aren't Saving for Retirement

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SEATTLE, Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Getting older may not be easy, but taking a back seat with your retirement plan could lead to a destiny that is more glum than golden. A new survey from Capital One ShareBuilder reveals that while a majority (54 percent) of Americans plan to retire by age 65, many (36 percent) are not actively contributing to a retirement plan, and more than a quarter (26 percent) are unsure how much they need to save. The survey of American pre-retirees found that while confidence in the ability to save for retirement has improved (with 33 percent claiming to be more confident than they were a year ago), nearly one in four (23 percent) are concerned they may never save enough to retire.(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121112/PH10741LOGO )"Now more than ever, it is important for Americans to take their retirement plans into their own hands to ensure they have an adequate nest egg," said Dan Greenshields, president of Capital One ShareBuilder, Inc. "While planning for a time that many see as a distant future can be a daunting task, people need to assess where they want and expect to be financially when they retire and take advantage of the various tools and resources available to plan for their financial future."Retirement Timing and Lifestyle: When and how do Americans plan to retire?

• More than half (54 percent) of Americans plan to retire by age 65, while 23 percent say they don't plan to ever fully retire.
• One in four (25 percent) Americans plan to work part-time during their retirement, and that percentage increases closer to retirement age, with 40 percent of Americans age 55-64 saying they'll work part-time.
• A third (33 percent) of Americans plan to maintain their current lifestyle, while 17 percent plan to make sacrifices and 11 percent plan to improve their lifestyle; 38 percent said they are unsure of what lifestyle they plan to lead.

Roadblocks to Retirement Savings: What's keeping Americans from saving?

• Paying for college tuition (20 percent), job loss (10 percent) and daily household bills (14 percent) are the top roadblocks for retirement savings, according to respondents.
• Only just over one third (37 percent) of Americans say nothing has impeded their ability to save for retirement.

"At any point in life, events can come up where even the best laid financial plans can be derailed," Greenshields said. "Having an adequate emergency or rainy day fund will help ease the financial burden of unexpected costs – and help keep you on track for retirement."The ING DIRECT Orange Savings Account, which can be directly linked to your ShareBuilder account, boasts features including automatic savings functionality and a My Savings Goals tool designed to help build a financial cushion, so you won't need to dip into or cease contributing to your retirement savings.Facing Retirement with an Arsenal of Tools:http://www.cnbc.com/id/100269511

Working Late, by Choice or Not

REPORT after report has made abundantly clear that job growth is weak, but there’s one wide swath of the population where employment growth is going gangbusters: older Americans.


A record 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older are working — double the number 15 years ago — partly because many older Americans love to work and partly because many feel too financially squeezed to retire.

With the value of many 401(k)’s and homes taking a beating during the recession and with energy and health care prices climbing, many who dreamed that retirementwas just around the corner have reluctantly kicked their retirement plans down the road.

While the overall number of Americans working has fallen by 4.4 million since the Great Recession began four and a half years ago — with many dropping out of the work force in frustration and some retiring early — the number of Americans 65 and older who are working has jumped by 1.4 million, a whopping 25 percent increase. Some work as doctors, some in retail, and some, with an entrepreneurial bent, start businesses in their 60s.

Americans are remaining healthier longer and living longer, making it easier to work past age 65. Moreover, it has grown easier for older Americans to continue working as the economy has shifted from physically taxing manufacturing jobs to less grueling service sector jobs.

In a survey done last year, the Society of Actuaries found that 55 percent of older Americans who continued working said they had done so to stay active and involved, while 51 percent said they had done so for additional income.

“One obvious reason people are working later is money,” said Steven A. Sass, program director at the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. “There’s a concern about what they have in their 401(k) and about Social Security.”

He said baby boomers were getting less than their parents did from Social Security because of the increase in the full retirement age — people cannot obtain full Social Security benefits until age 66, and for those born after 1957, the age will be 67. “Not only are they getting less from Social Security,” Mr. Sass said, “but many don’t have a pension that gives them a steady income after they retire.”

These factors help explain why 18.5 percent of Americans 65 and older remain in the labor force, up from 12.1 percent in 1995. Many have stayed in the work force past 60 because older Americans seem to be paying an ever-larger share of their incomes toward medical expenses and because many corporations have stopped providing health coverage to retirees, forcing many to work until Medicare is available at 65.

“Maybe people have recovered from the stock market plunge,” said Sara E. Rix, a senior policy adviser with the AARP Public Policy Institute. “But many people are still anxious about what may happen to the market, and that has caused many to delay retirement.”

Here are the stories of five Americans working well past age 65.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/business/retirementspecial/for-many-reasons-older-americans-remain-at-work.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0