Some Telling Retirement Trends

If you’re concerned about retirement and whether you’ll have enough money to retire, take a look at this survey conducted by Wells Fargo.

This morning Lynne Ford, executive vice president and head of retail retirement at Wells Fargo, joined me with the results of the company's 5th annual retirement survey. The results are very telling. You may not be surprised to find that only 23% of pre-retirees are saving more for retirement than a year ago. Many presumably are paying down short-term debt or have increased their rainy day fund in the event of a job loss. The problem is that average pre-retiree estimates they’ll need $800,000 to live 21 years when they’ve only saved $300,000 on average. Not only would Lynne argue they’re not accounting properly for how long they might live, but they’re also saving far too little and spending far too much an annual basis. The survey found that the average retiree spends almost 10% of his/her retirement funds each year when industry professionals recommend you spend closer to 4% annually.

The real interesting statistics could be found when you looked at women versus men. The differences in the way they save, the advice they look for and the anger they feel toward this recession are vastly different.

Take a look at Lynne’s explanation for those differences, her advice and what you can do to more wisely prepare for retirement.