Good News & Bad News: 8 New Findings About Retirement Readiness

With eased inflation and improved economic conditions, working individuals surveyed recently by Goldman Sachs reported a small decline in the impact of the "financial vortex," but they also continue to cite difficulty in achieving their short- and long-term financial goals. As defined in previous Goldman Sachs research, the financial vortex represents the mix of personal and economic factors that combine with unexpected life events to hamper people's confidence about achieving financial stability — both today and in retirement. As the new report warns, high monthly expenses, frequent financial hardships and the rising costs of caring for family members are all affecting Americans' ability to save for retirement. Working individuals with a personalized plan for retirement — created either alone or with a professional financial advisor — did report more confidence and less stress managing their savings. This group is also less likely to expect to delay retirement due to competing priorities. What's more, retirees who had a plan in place when preparing to leave the workforce were more likely to report higher retirement savings, better lifestyles in retirement and less stress entering retirement. They were also less likely to work part-time in retirement due to insufficient savings. Overall, the latest Goldman survey is a mixed bag of good and bad news. See the accompanying slideshow for a selection of data points from the new survey.