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Benefits March 19, 2013
Inadequate Retirement Saving Tops Money Mistakes
March 19, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Seventy-nine percent of Americans responding to an Edward Jones survey admitted they have committed a mistake with regard to their finances.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
Not saving enough for retirement topped the list of money mistakes (26%), followed by inadequate tracking of spending (20%) and taking on too much debt (13%).
Thirty-eight percent of respondents ages 35 to 44 pointed to inadequate retirement saving as their top money mistake. Only 24% of individuals ages 65 or older and 15% ages 18 to 34 expressed concerns regarding retirement savings.
Just 8% of respondents indicated that making “bad investments” was their biggest money mistake. Men and women differed, with 12% of males and 5% of females pointing to bad investments.
Respondents in the 18- to 35-year-old bracket indicated they do not pay enough attention to their spending and overall finances (35%). However, just 10% of respondents ages 65 or older identified unaccounted spending habits as their top money mistake. In fact, nearly 20% of respondents in the oldest age group said they have not made any money mistakes.
The survey was based on 1,008 phone interviews of U.S. adults conducted February 21 to 24, 2013.