piggy bank

More than half of Americans (55%) are not keeping up with retirement savings, according to the results of a recent survey from Bankrate. This is slightly worse than a year ago, when 52% of the respondents said they were falling behind. 

Nearly 35% of the respondents said they are “significantly behind” and another 20% said they’re “somewhat behind” their goals in the recent survey. More than 25% said they were adding “slightly more” (17%) or “significantly more” (8%). Twenty-five percent of the respondents said they weren’t contributing to their retirement savings at all, this year or last year.

That could mean less money for long-term care down the road, especially as rising operating expenses replace staffing challenges as a top concern for operators.

“More than one-third of workers feel they are ‘significantly behind’ on their retirement savings,” Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst, said in a statement. “And those who already feel behind are twice as likely to be contributing less this year than workers who feel they’re on track or ahead of where they should be.”

Interestingly, this year’s survey indicated that the actual number of Americans contributing more to their accounts is greater than those who are adding less. 

“Workers who are not contributing more to their retirement accounts this year overwhelmingly point to inflation as the reason why, and by more than a 2-to-1 margin over any other single response,” McBride said.

The baby boomer generation — those born between 1946 and 1964 — are the next cohort that will need long-term care. The boomers are also the least likely demographic to be financially prepared, according to the survey. Only 7% said they are ahead, compared to 71% that said they are behind.

The survey found that younger workers were more likely than their elders to have increased their contributions over the past year. About 30% of Gen Z respondents — those born since 1997 — had increased their contributions, compared to 10% who said they had decreased them.

Additionally, the survey found that  women (62%) are more likely than men (48%) to say they are behind on retirement savings.

Earnings also play a role in saving for retirement. According to Bankrate:

  • For those earning more than $100,000 a year, 46% said they’re behind on retirement savings, compared to 23% who are ahead.
  • For those earning $80,000 to $99,999, about 54% said they were behind, while 17%  said they are ahead.
  • For those with annual incomes of less than $80,000, about 59% said they were behind in retirement savings, compared to about 13% said they were ahead.

Bankrate surveyed 2,312 adults about their retirement savings. The study was conducted for Bankrate via phone interview by YouGov. from September 21-23, 2022.