Only 27 percent of Affluent households indicated they had
increased their savings earmarked for retirement at the start of the year. The
biggest financial regret of Affluent investors, according to Spectrem’s
Millionaire Corner research, is that they did not save enough for retirement.
When is a good time to start saving?
The latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement
Optimism Index survey finds that nearly three-in-ten investors started saving
for retirement in their 30s. One fourth began saving before reaching the age of
25, while 23 percent started saving for retirement between the ages of 25 to
29. This means, Gallup reports, that half of the surveyed investors
started the process of saving for retirement before they turned 30. Just 14
percent waited until their 40s to start saving, while less than 10 percent waited
until their 50s.
About one-fourth of those surveyed said they could not
possible save any more each month than they already do, but roughly 70 percent
said they believed they could. The highest percentage said they could possible
lave up to $200 extra a month if they made a serious effort to do so.
While a 2014 Financial Finesse report found that the
retirement readiness of American workers improved last year, another report by
the National Institute on Retirement Security report found that there is “room
for improvement” in the retirement readiness of every state.
A Spectrem’s Millionaire Corner survey of Affluent
households conducted earlier this year found that most respondents had not
increased the amount they put into savings for 2014. Only 27 percent indicated
they had done so at the start of the year.
Tellingly, the highest percentage who had increased their
savings for retirement had the lowest net worth, between $100,000 and $500,000.
Younger investors likewise showed a greater propensity to increase their
retirement savings. Almost half of respondents under 40 reported increasing
their savings amounts, while 44 percent of those in their 40s are also doing
so.
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