Americans Need Financial Help, Report Lagging on Retirement Savings

Of those, 36% are a little behind where they want to be, and 21% are far behind where they want to be, according to a release of the results. The survey found more than half (54%) of women feel they need professional investment guidance, compared to 46% of men.

Eleven percent of female breadwinners reported they need a lot of guidance from a professional when it comes to reaching their goals for retirement, compared to 6% of male breadwinners who report the same. 

Of the 57% who reported they were behind in their retirement savings, 56% said the reason is that they have little or no money left for savings after meeting their regular expenses, 56% indicated they started saving for retirement later in life, and 61% of women and 43% of men said raising children set them back. 

More than half of respondents (54%) of all respondents expect to contribute more often to a retirement account in 2010. 

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is “extreme stress,” 10% of women reported “extreme stress” in managing their retirement savings, compared to 4% of men who reported the same. Nearly a quarter (24%) of those surveyed reported their biggest concern as they approach retirement is having to work longer to supplement Social Security income, and 19% cited outliving their savings. 

Forty-seven percent of women indicated “having to work longer to supplement Social Security income” is their top concern as they near retirement, followed by “coping with health care expenses” (38%). Forty-two percent of men identified “outliving savings” as their top concern as they approach retirement, followed by “coping with health care expenses” (38%). 

The findings are based on a survey conducted in February by Infogroup | ORC among 1,058 working adults.

The full results can be downloaded here.