Many Saving for Retirement, but Room to Grow

A strong majority of U.S. workers are saving for retirement, but. A certain percentage is not, and that segment has grown slightly recently, two studies show.

Bankrate in its Financial Security Index for August reports that 10% of U.S. workers are not saving for retirement, and didn’t last year either. The 16th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey has more sobering results, showing that 76% are saving for retirement through an employer-sponsored retirement plan and/or outside of work, down from 80% in 2011.

Bankrate shows mixed results regarding how much is being saved. More than half of U.S. workers are saving the same amount this year as last; 19% are saving more and 14% less.

Transamerica reports that saving for retirement is the top priority of just 27% of workers. At the same time, however, fewer are confident that they will have enough saved to retire than were last year — 59% as opposed to 64%. Similarly, 49% say they are building a sufficient nest egg, fewer than said so in 2014. And a hefty 80% contend that they will have a much harder time achieving financial security than their parents.