It’s no secret the savings rate in this country is abysmal. Last year saw the first recorded negative savings rate since the Great Depression in the 1930s. And retirement – the biggest reason to save – is lasting longer and longer, meaning fewer dollars saved are going to have to last longer.
Brown & Tedstrom, a Denver-based financial planning and investment advisory firm, conducted a survey that shed light on how people are preparing for retirement. The firm also offered tips for a successful retirement and retirement land mines to avoid.
The survey found that a majority of respondents can only live 10 years or less on their current savings, and that is despite the fact that running out of money is the No. 1 retirement concern for the majority – and 71 percent of non-retired workers age 45 and older said they are saving some percentage of their income for retirement. But most are not saving enough. Sixty-two percent of those 45 to 64 years old have not factored the cost of long term care into their retirement plan, even though the average annual cost of LTC is $70,000.