19% of Working Americans Are Not Saving Anything

Nearly 20% of working Americans are not saving any money, according to a Bankrate.com survey. The number one reason they gave for not saving was having too many expenses, cited by 39%. Sixteen percent said their job isn’t good enough, 16% said they haven’t gotten around to it, and 13% said debt was preventing them from saving.

Among those who are saving, 27% say they are saving more than 10% of their salary, and 16% are saving more than 15%.

“With a steady, significant share of the working population saving nothing or relatively little, it’s virtually guaranteed they’ll be unable to afford a modest emergency expense or finance retirement,” says Mark Hamrick, senior economist at Bankrate.com. “That amounts to a financial fail. With higher incomes coming in because of the tax cut and rising wages, there are ready sources to help fund savings.”

Twenty percent of those earning more than $75,000 a year are saving more than 15%. Twenty-three percent of younger Millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 27, are saving more than 15% of their incomes, and 27% of older Baby Boomers are saving more than 15% of their incomes.

The same can be said for 21% of college grads. By comparison, only 18% of those with some college education are saving 15% or more of their income, and just 9% of those with a high school diploma or some high school education.

Twenty percent of Millennials said their job isn’t good enough, and 27% of the Silent Generation, those 73 and older, said they don’t need to save more.

Those citing debt as the reason for failing to save more often tended to be those with higher incomes, including 17% of those making $75,000 or more. Twenty-seven percent of Republicans, 13% of Democrats and 10% of Independents blamed debt as an obstacle to saving.

SSRS conducted the land line and cell phone survey among 1,010 people for Bankrate.com between Feb. 28 and March 4. Of this group, 501 are employed.