More than half of working Americans do not believe they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, says a recent Gallup poll.
Approximately 53% of those surveyed shared the negative sentiment, a sharp increase from a third of survey respondents in 2002 (see chart). The figure represents a new high level of response to the question since the question was first asked in 2002.
General economic attitudes contribute to the way Americans view retirement, an accompanying report says. Gallup also attributes the negative outlook to the continuing political discussion about the fragility of the Social Security and Medicare programs, which it says may reduce non-retired American’s comfort with projections of their financial situations in retirement.
“The majority of Americans disapprove of efforts to cut these programs,” Gallup says. “The current research showing that the majority of nonretired Americans are worried they will not have enough money to live comfortably when they retire may help explain their disapproval. Additionally, other Gallup research has shown that Social Security is the most important source of income for Americans who are now retired.”
The survey also found that the expected retirement age has increased to 66 in 2011 from 65 in 2010.
View the Gallup poll findings.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
