Financial Planning For Retirement

I do not write about managing and controlling finances - that's best left to the economic experts. What I can share with you are a few trends and information appropriate and related to financial literacy - "the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one's financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial security," a definition used by the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.

In The month of January, the Employee Benefits Research Institute conducted its annual Retirement Confidence Survey. The report had the following headline: "Confidence Drops to Record Lows, Reflecting the `New Normal."'

Here are some key findings:

Confidence:
The Institute identified and discovered that more than one in four workers are not at all confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement. That's an increase from 22 percent in 2010.

Rather than making basic adjustments to spending and savings, workers are changing their expectations about living a "new normal" in retirement.

Savings:
The report indicates that 68 percent of workers and/or their spouses saved for retirement, a decrease from the 75 percent who reported saving in 2009. What is alarming is the sizable percentage of workers who have no savings or investments: 29 percent say they have saved less than $1,000.

Retirement age:
The expected retirement age continues to rise and has increased over time. The survey indicated that only 23 percent of workers expect to retire before age 65 compared to half of the workers in 1991. The poor economy (36 percent), lack of faith in Social Security or the government (16 percent) and a change in employment (15 percent) were the most frequently stated reasons.

For more info please visit: http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_19300390