Data & Research March 2, 2009

Retirement a More Distant Dream for Some

A survey commissioned by ING Direct found that almost half of respondents are clueless about how much they need to retire.
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The survey indicated that four in 10 Americans believe the current economic climate will force them to retire up to 10 years later than expected or not at all. More than 60% of respondents are significantly more concerned about saving enough money for retirement and having the right type of retirement plan than they were six months ago, according to a press release of the results. However, 21% are contributing less to retirement than they were last year.

In addition, the survey revealed that despite the economic turmoil, 65% of those surveyed have not adjusted their retirement investments.

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ING Direct also found nearly half of respondents (47%) have “no clue” how much money they need to retire, and one in five (19%) are still banking on Social Security to be their main source of retirement income.

The national online survey of 1,223 adults was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of ING DIRECT February 18 to 19.

In Practice March 2, 2009

Word on the Street

Not up on the latest Wall Street gossip? Check out these links.
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Dealbreaker: Sometimes we all need a break from serious financial news. Dealbreaker is the Perez Hilton for Wall Street (well, not quite as juicy). If you need a lighthearted look at what’s happening in today’s financial news, it’s a blog for you.


footnoted.org: Writer Michelle Leder combs daily through SEC filings to find the dirt in the fine print. The blog offers insights on some of the more concealed government filings not reported elsewhere.

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Social networking: If you are interested in a social media site for financial news, try Tip’d or WallStreetBlips. Similar to mainstream platforms like Digg and reddit.com, these sites enable users to submit interesting stories and vote on their popularity. Tip’d covers several topics including investing, personal finance, and business news. WallStreetBlips focuses more on straight financial news and is a great way to get all of the top financial stories, blog posts, and videos in one place.


Madoff: There are scores of good Madoff reads out there. It’s hard to have time for them all. If you have three minutes, check out this video excerpt of Bernard Madoff speaking about the modern financial market to a non-profit group in 2007—that non-profit group turned out to be one of his unlucky investors, CBS reported.


 

 

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