EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey Finds

According to the 24th annual Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement has recovered somewhat from the record lows of the past five years, but it does not appear to be founded on improved retirement preparations. In fact, "The 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Rebounds—for Those With Retirement Plans" (Issue Brief No. 397) suggests that the improvement may be limited to those with retirement plans.

In the aggregate, reported worker savings remain low, and only a minority appear to be taking basic steps
to prepare for retirement. Nearly half of workers without a retirement plan were not at all confident about their financial security in retirement, compared with only about 1 in 10 with a plan.

Among EBRI's other findings:

• The increase in confidence between 2013 and 2014 occurred primarily among those with a plan (an increase from 14% very confident in 2013 to 24% in 2014 for those with a plan, compared with level readings among those without a plan (10% very confident in 2013 and 9% in 2014).
• The percentage of workers planning to work for pay in retirement now stands at 65%, compared with just 27% of retirees who report they work for pay in retirement.
• Only 44% report they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in retirement, a level that has held relatively consistent over the past decade.

Source: EBRI Press Release (March 18, 2014)