DAYTON — Some people may not have enough money for retirement.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, a recent study from the National Institute of Retirement Security shows that the average American worker has less than $1,000 saved for retirement.
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The non-profit group says that the typical American worker has about $950 saved for retirement.
News Center 7’s Nick Foley says that the group includes employees between the ages of 21 and 64.
It also shows a huge gap in what workers have set aside and what the retirement industry and advisors recommend people have.
“About half of workers are not participating in a plan at work,” said Dan Doonan. “We expect you to start saving it at 25 and do it every year for 40 years. That’s just not common.”
Doonan told Foley that with the cost of living being higher than it’s ever been, it’s understandable that people can fall behind.
“In fact, that’s incredibly rare, but that’s what the retirement industry is saying, like this is what you need to do,” he said. “There are real competing priorities that I think are putting this squeeze on other generations.”
Doonan says that while large private companies and public employers make it easy for employees to start a retirement plan, many workers do not have access to a 401 (k) plan.
Studies show that people save much more when an allotted amount is taken directly from a paycheck and deposited into a savings account.
“If it’s automatically done, you know, sign up, and it happens, as opposed to writing a check every month towards savings, that behaviorally, that’s not a great plan,” said Doonan. “People aren’t going to do that as much. So, yeah, having a frictionless path towards saving, I think, is incredibly important.”
Foley says here in Ohio, the state has many saving plans for public workers, police, and firefighters.
There are also programs for prospective home buyers and those who are saving for education.
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