It is no secret that America faces a Retirement Crisis due to our consumption driven society where saving for retirement seems to be an afterthought that many American’s keep putting off for a later date. Well some good news did come out of the recent Bank of America – Merrill Edge Report that revealed 68 percent of mass affluent consumers ($50,000 to $250,000 in total household investable assets) plan to ramp up on their retirement savings over the next six months. That is up considerably from the 49 percent in the same survey last November (2011).
Some more important stats from the survey were that 85 percent plan to make a focus on budgeting, 71 percent on balancing short and long term finances, and 67 percent on managing their debt such as car loans, credit cards, and their mortgage. All of those numbers are also up considerably from last year. But even after all of this great news on paper, there still exists some concern. Approximately 35 percent said that they still tap into their long-term savings to pay their short-term expenses. Furthermore, 57 percent expect to retire later than planned, which is also up from 47 percent last year. So clearly, the issues are far from over.
