Millions Of Americans Have Nothing Saved For Retirement

The job market may be strong and wages may be increasing, but scores of workers in the U.S. have little in the way of savings for retirement.

That’s according to a new Federal Reserve survey released Thursday (May 23). According to The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Reserve found that one-quarter of Americans who are employed said they don’t have any money set aside for their retirement. What’s more, 44 percent of survey respondents said they are concerned that they aren’t saving enough.

Among those aged 18 to 29, 42 percent have nothing in the way of retirement savings while only 26 percent think they have enough for retirement. The Federal Reserve also found that many households are having a hard time covering expenses with 17 percent saying they can’t pay all their bills in the month they were polled. Of the group, they said they would skip making rent, mortgage, credit card, and utility payments. A quarter of adults in the U.S. skipped medical care last year while 40 percent have unpaid medical bills. Of the survey respondents, 40 percent said they don’t have enough to cover a $400 expense if it was to arise. They would need credit cards or loans to cover it.

While a large swath of the U.S. population isn’t saving, the Fed found that over the six years that it has been conducting the survey there has been an improvement in the economic lives of Americans, reported The Wall Street Journal.  Three out of four respondents indicated they are doing fine, which is up from 63 percent in 2013.  Close to two out of three of those polled said the economic conditions where they live are either good or excellent, noted the report.  The Fed found household finance gaps across races. Of the black respondents, The Wall Street Journal reported two-thirds said they were doing OK on the financial front compared to 78 percent of white survey takers. That gap of 12 percentage points has remained the same since 2013, noted the report.