Polling Data on America's Retirement Crisis

.

The Retirement Crisis is a Top Concern for Americans

A wide range of polls shows that the retirement crisis is all too real.  Americans are experiencing the crisis firsthand, yet policymakers and opinion leaders are paying scant attention to the problem.

Below are the results from recent polls that show the depth of national anxiety over retirement and the importance that people place on having enough income in retirement.

• People fear outliving their money more than death:  More than 90 percent of Baby Boomers feel the United States is facing a retirement crisis, and 61 percent of Boomers fear outliving their money in retirement more than death.¹
• An overwhelming majority of Americans are anxious about their retirement prospects:  Some 84% are concerned that current economic conditions are impacting their ability to achieve a secure retirement, with more than half (54%) of Americans very concerned.²
• Lack of retirement funds is Americans' biggest financial worry:  More Americans are worried about not having enough money for retirement (66%) than are worried about seven other financial matters, including paying for healthcare, paying a mortgage, and for their children’s college education.³
• Nearly half of U.S. adults say top financial goal is having enough money for retirement:  Forty-seven percent of U.S. adults aged 18 and older say having enough money for retirement is their top financial priority, compared to just 17 percent who feel homeownership is their top financial goal.⁴
• Guaranteed income in retirement trumps having 401(k) plan: When asked to rate several factors related to creating a more secure retirement, the most popular selection was “having a guaranteed stream of income in retirement” (86 percent), outranking “having a 401(k)/403(b)/457 plan” (71 percent).⁵

• Guaranteed income is increasingly important, even to younger workers: The number of workers under 40 with a traditional pension who are willing to pay for a guaranteed retirement benefit jumped by nearly 70% in two years -- from 39% in 2009 to 66% in 2011.⁶

Sources:

¹Allianz Life Insurance Company, “Outliving Your Money Feared More Than Death,” June 2010.

²National Institute for Retirement Security, “Pensions and Retirement Security 2011: A Roadmap for Policymakers,” March 2011.

³Gallup, “Lack of Retirement Funds Is Americans' Biggest Financial Worry,” June 2011.

⁴National Endowment for Financial Education, “Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Say Top Financial Goal is Having Enough Money for Retirement,” August 2011.

⁵Allianz Life Insurance Company, “Guaranteed Income in Retirement Trumps Having 401(k) Plan,” October 2011.

⁶Towers Watson, "Pensions in Transition: Retirement Plan Changes and Employer Motivations," May 2012.