In the previous post I postulated that Americans could save more for retirement if they changed their spending habits. However, it appears that was a dream. A new survey says despite concerns about retirement, Americans aren’t willing to change their spending. Chalk one more up for inequality.
Many Americans with significant savings fear going broke in retirement, but they aren’t willing to cut back on their current lifestyle to save more for the future, a new survey shows.
About 55% of respondents say they fear not having enough money in retirement, more than they fear other stressors such as losing their job (37%) or gaining weight (25%), according to Bank of America’s Merrill Edge report, which is released twice a year.
The latest findings are based on a national survey of 1,000 people defined as emerging affluent because they have $50,000 to $250,000 in total household investments, including cash, savings, mutual funds, IRAs, stocks, bonds and other investments, but excluding their homes and real estate investments. About 90% of respondents have retirement savings, and they began saving at an average age of 33.
Despite their fear of going broke, many don’t want to cut back on discretionary expenses to save for the future: 33% aren’t willing to cut back on entertainment to save more, 30% won’t reduce eating out and 28% aren’t willing to forego vacations, the survey found.
More respondents (63%) say having money to live “in the here and now” is a priority than those who said saving for the future (48%) is a priority. Source: “Many Americans fear going broke in retirement” USA Today 5-25-14
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