Retirement expectations reached new lows in the aftermath of the recession, says an annual survey released this week by the Employee Benefits Research Institute.
According to EBRI's 19th annual retirement confidence survey, a record-low 13% of Americans say they're very confident they'll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. The main reasons for the sour outlook include the recent economic uncertainty, along with job losses or pay cuts, falling retirement savings, and rising debt levels.
At 13%, the percentage of people who said they're very confident about their retirement outlook continues a two-year decline from 27% in 2007 and 16% in 2008.
"By any measure, the two-year results amount to a very significant drop in workers' and retirees' confidence in their retirement prospects," said Jack VanDerhei, EBRI's research director.
Among other things, the survey found more people expect to work longer to bolster finances negatively impacted by the economic downturn. The median worker expects to retire at age 65, but 21% plan to work into their 70s.
And more workers plan to supplement their income in retirement by working--72% said they plan to work in retirement, up from 66% last year. This compares with 34% of retirees who say they actually worked for pay at some point during retirement.
But when it comes to actually planning for retirement, just 44% of respondents say they've actually calculated how much money they'll need to retire comfortably. And an equal amount say they guess at how much they'll need.
The survey contacted 1,257 people in January.