In a new survey conducted for Bankrate.com it was reported that 14% of Americans age 65 and older have no retirement savings.  For people 50 to 64 that percentage jumps to 26%.  For people in the 30 to 49 year range it jumps 33% and a whopping 69% for individuals 18 to 29 years old.  Another study conducted by the non-profit Employee Benefit Research institute and Grunewald & Associates notes that 60% of all workers have saved $25,000 or less for their retirement.

As dire as these numbers seem, other studies have shown that these same groups are more prepared than prior generations, so what gives?  Are we heading for calamity or are things good, it all depends upon who is conducting the survey.

As usual, the more money someone has for retirement the better but Americans never had 100% participation in defined benefit plans. The largest percentage of workers covered was less than 50%, the others had no retirement plan at all.  Furthermore retirement plans changed because many large companies in the late 1960s and 1970s went bankrupt and left the workers without any pension plans. That is the reason for the 401(k) plan and IRAs that we see today.

So, although the system is not perfect and not everyone is participating, more people are participating than before and the participants are better informed.  Will that be enough for a great retirement, who knows?  The planning process is dependent upon future events and that always means the actual outcome is different than the planned one!