The Employee Benefit Research Institute recently released the results of their Retirement Confidence Survey which indicates Americans are very anxious about having enough money for retirement. The percentage of workers who responded that they were very confident about having enough money for retirement hit the lowest level (13%) ever recorded in the annual survey. These workers are not only reporting that they have reduced their expenses (81%), but also that they changing the way they invest their money (43%) and that they are now saving more money (25%).

The Usual Suspects

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Inflation, employment, and economic uncertainty were the primary concerns cited in the survery, along with increases in debt and the loss of retirement savings. Americans considering their retirement savings have rarely faced such a tidal wave of bad economic news and despair. Of all the economic concerns that are tormenting Americans anguishing over their retirement, the unemployed worker is facing the biggest hurdles. The ability to have your employer contribute funds to match your contributions to your retirement savings is the driving force that can make meeting retirement goals possible. With the unemployment rate at 8% in the United States, millions of Americans are missing out on these monthly contributions to their retirement savings. And don't forget payroll contributions to profit-sharing plans and 401Ks are typically pre-tax, which only increases the value of being employed and receiving employer contributions.

What To Do?

Workers planning for retirement are planning to keep working longer than they had planned in past years. In addition, 72% of respondents to the EBRI survey indicated that they plan to supplement their income with part-time work during their retirement years. Working longer and working more are only two solutions to make retirement savings last. A critical component of saving for retirement is investing wisely. Only 44% of the workers surveyed responded that they have tried to calculate how much money they need to save by the time they retire. While computing this number is certainly an inexact science, how can a family plan for retirement without anticipating what they will need to live comfortably?

Even after computing the magic number needed to retire comfortably there are more calculations that are needed to make wise decisions. Workers have to allocate their investments in such a way to earn good investment returns which compound over the years and yet still provide safety and protection against violent market swings. The decline in the stock market in the last year has destroyed trillions of dollars of retirement wealth. Unfortunately, this has shaken the confidence for many American workers in their investment advisors. Many advisors did perform poorly in planning for the proper asset allocation for people very close to retirement, but professional advice is still needed to maximize the tax benefits of retirement savings.

I Reached My Goal Now What?

If you have reached your retirement savings goal or if you just can't bear the roller-coaster ride of stocks and mutual funds you can use bank savings accounts as part of your asset allocation. Bank CDs, bank money market accounts, and bank savings accounts earning over 3% are listed at MoneyRates.com. This rate of return still beats the yields on most Treasuries, municipal bonds, and money funds. Check the latest bank rates today and protect part of your retirement savings with the backing of FDIC insurance.