These 8 Findings Paint a Worrying Picture of U.S. Retirement Readiness

The average U.S. worker appears to be on track for significant retirement hardship, according to a growing body of academic and financial industry research, and many Americans are facing a grim new reality after they retire.

The latest analysis pointing to this conclusion was published this week by FOREX.com, which recently commissioned a retirement sentiment survey of some 3,000 working Americans. The results show that many Americans are lagging behind commonly cited savings goals, but that they also are committed to investing in the stock market and in real estate in order to grow their nest egg.

Matt Weller, investment expert at FOREX.com, says this is one of the survey’s positive findings, with 35% of Americans reporting they will strongly draw on these two sources of wealth to fund their retirement.

Many of the other findings are less positive. More than half of working Americans say they have yet to start saving for retirement, and about a third say they feel uncertain about managing the interrelated risks that are associated with retirement planning.

See the accompanying slideshow for a selection of survey highlights underscoring the precarious position of many Americans when it comes to retirement.