Bad news on the retirement savings front, as the number of workers who say they are not yet saving for retirement increased since 2014, a step backwards in enrollment and education.
Another surprise? Those furthest from retirement, Gen X and Millennial savers, were the most stressed about their retirement prospects.
Franklin Templeton’s 2016 Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations (RISE) survey revealed that 41 percent of respondents indicated that they are not yet saving, compared to 35 percent in 2014.
Stress when thinking about retirement savings and investments saw a slight uptick year-over-year, with 70 percent of all respondents reporting stress this year versus 67 percent in 2015.
While anxiety has increased, stress levels and attitudes about retirement appeared to fluctuate across different generations. Gen Xers and Millennials reflected the highest levels of stress and anxiety when thinking about retirement savings and investments (76 and 70 percent, respectively). Diverging from their Gen X counterparts, Millennials reflected a far more positive outlook, with 35 percent believing their retirement will be better than previous generations compared to only 26 percent of Gen Xers who felt the same.
When asked how concerned they are today versus 12 months ago about outliving assets or having to make major sacrifices during retirement, respondents again expressed higher levels of concern today (52 percent) compared to last year (43 percent). Again, levels appeared to peak among Gen Xers and Millennials, with these groups indicating the most concern overall about paying for expenses in retirement (89 and 90 percent, respectively). Respondents indicated the most concern about paying for health care (33 percent), with levels peaking among Baby Boomers and Gen Xers (both 39 percent).
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
