More than two-thirds (68%) of adults 55 and over admit to procrastinating on retirement planning, on average 10.6 years later than they felt they should have. The reasons offered for procrastination were varied, according to a Financial Engines survey:
- 50% blamed stress for their procrastinating
- 40% said they had higher priorities, even though they were interested in retirement planning
- 24% were worried about being taken advantage of
- 23% were not sure how to go about it
- 20% believed it was too difficult
So how much did the delay cost them? According to a report by Financial Engines, a saver starting at age 35 would have to save 11.69% of their pay to catch up to a 25-year-old saver who was saving just 6% of pay by age 65. And a saver who waited until 40 would have to save 16.44% of pay to have the same amount at age 65.
