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Workers avoid planning for retirement, survey finds
Posted on: 2005-11-06 15:30:23 Workers avoid planning for retirement, survey finds By Anna Flavia Rocha e Silva Scripps Howard Foundation Wire WASHINGTON - Nearly one-third of Americans would rather clean their bathrooms or pay bills than plan for retirement. It is not that they are having fun. But working adults find the health care and retirement systems to be â??very, very confusing,â?? said Joyce Dubow, an associate director in AARPâ??s Public Policy Institute, a non-profit membership organization of people over 50. A national survey found that three-fourths of Americans are not confused about retirement health care plans. But 63 percent said â??people they knowâ?? are very or somewhat confused. The report, â??Plan for Your Health â?? Planning for a Healthy Retirement,â?? was sponsored by Aetna and the Financial Planning Association. Ipsos Public Affairs last month interviewed 1,016 adults ages 45 to 75 who have health insurance to investigate issues related to health care and retirement planning. Some in the sample group were retired. The surveyâ??s margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. â??Having literacy is essential if people are going to navigate in the health care system,â?? Dubow said. In a briefing to present the survey this week, specialists in health care and retirement planning said that education makes the difference for a safe retirement. But the survey found that nearly half of those interviewed have not started or have planned minimally for retirement. And 18 percent of the workers interviewed have done no planning. The lack of planning is related to education, as many people donâ??t think about starting to save money at an early age. â??Start early. And even if you canâ??t save a lot, save a little. It is better than nothing at all,â?? said Tracey A. Baker, a certified financial planner who chairs of the National Capital Chapter of the Financial Planning Association. Baker said that people should start planning as soon as they get their first job. â??Early planning is the key for successful planning,â?? she said. The biggest concern among workers is if they are going to have enough money to live comfortably, according to 42 percent of the workers interviewed in the survey. Baker said there is no way to define the amount of money people will need to retire. â??It depends on what retirement means for you,â?? she said. She said that workers should be realistic about their savings and should expect their plans to change, as they may travel more and spend more money on unexpected health care expenses. â??Donâ??t give up your health insurance,â?? Baker said. Financial planning and retirement health planning go together, said Dr. Dexanne B. Clohan, an Aetna medical director. Clohan said people can make some health changes now that will lower expenses when they retire â?? such as keeping cholesterol and blood pressures at healthy levels. â??For example, if you are smoking now and you could give up smoking, you could reduce the likelihood of serious problems when you retire,â?? she said. â??Plus, you will save all the money that you are spending on cigarettes.â?? Anything could make a difference for those who cannot save a lot. Vickie Elisa is the president of Motherâ??s Voices, a nonprofit organization in Georgia that works to improve the health and social status of low-income women and their families. Elisa said her group encourages women who have limited resources to save their pocket change and try to identify how much money they earn and how much they will need to pay their bills. She said that, although their savings may not be enough for retirement, the women are learning the concepts and the importance of savings. â??I think that women are better savers. Women tend to be much more devoted to a plan,â?? Baker said. But women may find it a greater challenge than men to save for retirement, said Cindy Hall, president of Womenâ??s Policy Inc. She said that women live longer, earn less money than men and sometimes stop working for a while to take care of their children. She said that some women donâ??t have pensions and can count only on Social Security. â??With the uncertainties regarding Social Security, everybody needs to save something,â?? she said. Open community website http://www.business-business.biz http://www.investment-investment.us http://www.retirement-retirement.com Recommended sites To design your custom retirement plan. http://www.retirement-plan.us For planning an IRA rollover this is the site to review. http://www.ira-rollover.us For professional asset allocation and the wonders it can do. http://www.asset-allocation.us Managers selected to fit your needs. http://www.money-managers.us Top rated manager http://www.durig.com |