Financial Fitness Requires Hard Training

Forty-four percent of the 4,050 adults ING surveyed between October 5 and October 13 said a marathon trumps saving for retirement.

ING conducted the poll on the eve of the November 4 ING New York City Marathon, the 10^th year ING has been the title sponsor of the marathon. More than half of those surveyed (53%) said they are only “warming up” when it comes to their retirement, having only just started saving for retirement. Twelve percent have saved nothing and are “just watching from the sidelines.”

Nearly a third (32%) think they are on track, running the retirement race, and only 3% “have crossed the finished line,” in terms of meeting their retirement goal. 

“Whether or not you commit to running 26.2 miles in life, every American should get into the race when it comes to their retirement planning,” said Maliz Beams, chief executive officer of ING U.S. Retirement. Beams compared saving for retirement to running a marathon in terms of training, being disciplined and having a long-term strategy. “Short-term goals should also be set,” Beams said, “including revisiting and tracking your savings and investment plans on a regular basis.”

Steps investors need to make to warm up for the race begin with participating in a workplace retirement plan and/or an IRA, ING said. Train regularly, ING added, in terms of regularly reviewing investments and overall financial fitness.

“Maintain momentum,” ING added, meaning: Be vigilant and work with a financial adviser.