Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Retirement Planning > Saving for Retirement

Survey: Americans Give Higher Priority to Retirement Savings than to College Savings

By Warren S. Hersch

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

More adult Americans give higher priority to saving for retirement than to saving for a child’s college education, new research reveals.

Country Financial, Bloomington, Ill., published this finding in a summary of results from a national telephone and online survey of 3,000 Americans. The data was compiled by Rasmussen Reports LLC, an independent research firm.

When asked to prioritize savings objectives, nearly half (45%) of the respondents polled by Rasmussen gave greater priority to saving for retirement than to saving for a child’s college education (38%). The result, the report indicates, can be attributed in part to a steady decline in the number of Americans who value a college education.

Just 57% of Americans in 2012 believe that a college education is still a good investment, the report finds. In 2011 and 2010, 58% and 64% of Americans, respectively, said that a college education is a still a good investment. The survey reveals still higher percentages in 2009 (79%) and 2008 (81%).

Forty two percent of the survey respondents say that $20,000 or greater is too much student loan debt. This is 9% more than the 31% who provided the same answer in 2011.

By comparison, half of Americans say that less than $20,000 in student loan debt is too much. This represents a 9% decline compared to the 61% who answered similarly in 2011.

The survey attributes the greater percentage of Americans this year versus last who are prepared to accept higher loan amounts to the 62% of respondents who “prioritized the quality of the education over the cost when evaluating colleges.”

The survey further reveals that 80% of Americans say that parents should be responsible for paying at least a part of their child’s college education. A majority (57%) say that half or less of their child’s college costs will be funded by student loans.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.