Middle-Income Survey: Savings Down, Confidence Unchanged

By Staff Writer

March 16, 2009 at 08:00 PM

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The recession has caused 39% of Americans to save less for their golden years, say the authors of a new retirement survey report.

However, 35% of the 3,000 Americans interviewed said they believe it is possible for a typical middle-income family to save for a secure retirement.

This is virtually unchanged from the percentages recorded in the 2 previous years–36% in 2008 and 37% in 2007–when the U.S. economy was in a better state, says COUNTRY Financial, Bloomington, Ill., which commissioned the study.

Other survey findings:

- 26% of the respondents said the effects of today's economy will cause them to delay their retirement.

- Overall, the respondents viewed women as better at saving and investing for the future (37%) than men (29%). But men think they are better at this task (42%) while women believe they have the upper hand (49%).

- 23% who participate in work-sponsored plans, such as 401(k)s, said their employer has cut contributions to their retirement account.

Compiled for COUNTRY by Rasmussen Reports L.L.C., Asbury Park, N.J., the survey was conducted by telephone in March. The margin of sampling error is about 2%, with a 95% level of confidence.

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