Over 40 Million Americans Regret not saving earlier for Retirement Benefits

May 20, 2016

A recent survey done by Bankrate.com has revealed that most of the Americans live with financial regrets. They primarily regret not saving enough money for retirement benefits. The other thing they regret is not saving for emergencies. The survey also revealed that people had better financial situations, financial security, and net worth when compared to a year ago.

Retirement Benefits and Emergency Savings are Key Regrets

Most of the Americans admitted that they had financial regrets. The percentage of Americans admitting the regrets was 75%. This was revealed in a study done by Bankrate.com. The study also found out that 18% or about 42 million Americans thought they should have started saving earlier towards their retirement funds. The study also found out that about 13% Americans thought they didn’t have enough money to pay emergency expenses.

Age and Retirement Saving Regrets

The survey also uncovered the fact that the Americans who were older had more concerns with regard to not saving up early for retirement. People who were more than 30 years old felt that they should have started saving for retirement early on. About 17% of respondents who were between the ages 30 to 49 regretted it. About 24% of respondents who were within the age range of 50 to 64 had this regret too. The percentage increased to 27% when the respondents were over 64 years of age.

Expert Opinion

The Chief Financial Analyst of Bankrate.com, Greg McBride, CFA stated that most Americans dealt with the financial distress of not having enough savings.

Better Financial Situation

The good news for the Americans is that they got better at other financial factors. The number of Americans who admitted that their financial situation is better than it was one year ago is almost double the number of people admitting that their financial situation is worse. The Financial Security Index of Bankrate.com is at its 2nd-highest reading ever. It is currently 104.7.

About 31% of Americans have also confessed that their net worth is better than it was a year back and just 13% said that it has worsened. The financial security of men and women has improved considerably in the last one year too. Each posted the best readings in over 1 years’ time.

The Survey Subjects

The survey that found out all about the retirement benefits regret and the financial situation of Americans was done on more than 1,000 adults who were living in the continental United States. It was conducted by Princeton Data Source from May 5, 2016, to May 8, 2016.