Americans are dissatisfied with the current employer-run pension system and would support a transportable system that provides payments for life, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security.
The Millennial generation, those born after 1976, are particularly concerned and feel the lack of a pension system is creating stress for baby boomers, said the study by the institute, a research and educational organization for policy makers about retirement security.
Of those surveyed, 84 percent feel all Americans should have access to a pension to be self-sufficient in retirement, and 67 percent think it is a mistake to cut Social Security for current retirees.
An overwhelming majority (85 percent) of Americans are concerned about retirement and more than half (55 percent) are very concerned.
“Despite stabilization of the financial markets, declining unemployment, and increased consumer confidence, Americans are deeply worried about retirement,” says Diane Oakley, NIRS executive director and author of the report, Pensions and Retirement Security 2013: A Roadmap for Policy Makers.
“Perhaps the high level of anxiety can be tied to Americans’ sentiment about the risks embedded in today’s crumbling retirement infrastructure -- one where fewer Americans have a reliable monthly pension check in exchange for a system where Americans are investing on their own in a volatile stock market,” she adds.
Eighty-seven percent of those polled say policy makers in Washington do not understand how hard it is to save for retirement.
In other findings, 73 percent feel public employees should have pensions because they contribute to the funds, 86 percent believe police and firefighters should have pensions because of the job risks, and 72 percent feel teachers are entitled to pensions to compensate for low pay.
The study included 800 respondents 25 years of age or older.