Retirement Concerns

Lingering retirement concerns are evident in the poll: While 31 percent say they expect to increase their retirement savings this year, 42 percent say they need to but can’t.

Half or more of those surveyed say they expect Social Security and Medicare to be there when they need it, yet a majority of those express doubt about whether the programs will be enough to help cover their retirement expenses. On Social Security, about 3 in 10 are “very” or “fairly” confident, while about 7 in 10 are “just somewhat” or not confident.

On housing, Americans are growing more optimistic about the market, with 35 percent saying they expect their homes to be worth more a year from now and 10 percent expecting values to drop. Twenty-nine percent say they’ll be worth about the same.

Housing prices, which have risen for 10 consecutive months, increased 10.9 percent in March from a year ago, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller composite 20-city home price index.

Low Point

In St. Albans, New York, Elizabeth Talamas, 39, says the value of her family’s home has rebounded from its low point amid the 2008 financial crisis.

“We’re really happy it’s back to where it was,” says the stay-at-home mom. “Now, if we have to sell, we’ll get at least what we paid for it.”

Talamas is among those poll respondents who say they have enough of a financial cushion to ride out an unexpected downturn. Though 43 percent say they couldn’t live off their savings for 90 days, 55 percent say they could.

“We have a comfortable cushion if there was an emergency,” she says. “Of course, you always want more.”