Golden Year Fears: You're Not Alone

Do you have dreams of retiring and are now panicking about your future? Don't know what to do? Wondering if others are just as concerned as you are? According to the 2008 Retirement Confidence Survey just released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, you are not alone!

The survey found that 18% of workers were very confident in their ability to retire. One year ago that number was 27%. Many retirees have not saved enough money and have not prepared themselves for the rising cost of health care bills, according to the survey. Most retirees rely on their home as their primary asset and retirement plan. What happens when that asset declines? Your retirement begins to a look a lot less appealing. According to their survey, which has been conducted for 17 years now, only 25% of retirees and workers have saved over $100k dollars and 50% have saved less then $50,000.

The president of retirement and investor services at The Principal Financial Group, Dan Houston, joined me on The Opening Bell this morning to review the findings of the survey and to give us some advice for what we can do to prepare for our future. It starts, according to him, by saving 15% of your income at age 30. Start saving!

Note: You can get more details on this study at http://www.ebri.org/surveys/rcs/2008/.