The situation with retirement savings is more complicated. With the average age of a first-time homebuyer at 33, the need for home-buying savings generally occurs before the need to pay a child's college costs. It is a much larger investment than saving for a major vacation and much more costly and a far less immediate necessity than an emergency fund. Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that saving for a child's college education is the self-reported goal accomplished by the fewest of the nation's non-retired investors. Saving for retirement is the goal that shows the greatest difference by age - those 45 and older are more than twice as likely as those 44 and younger to say they have made a lot of progress or completed the goal. The vast majority have either made a lot of progress (33%) or some progress (57%) on this longest-range of the goals. On the other hand, this goal also has the lowest percentage at the other end of the spectrum, with only 3% having reached their retirement savings goal. Only seven percent of non-retired investors have failed to make any progress on saving enough so that they can live comfortably in retirement, the lowest percentage for any of the five goals. However, 13% have not made any progress on this fundamental step toward financial security. More than half (56%) of those attempting to build an emergency fund say they have completed the task (39%) or made a lot of progress (17%). Saving for a major vacation has the next-highest total, with 46% saying they have completed their goal, while it is not a financial goal for about one in five (21%) non-retired investors.Īlmost all (98%) investors who are not retired are trying to reach the other two potential goals - building an emergency fund of three or more months of income and saving enough to live comfortably in retirement. Slightly fewer than one in 10 homeowners say they are still short of their savings goal. The vast majority of those who say they have completed their goal are homeowners. Seventy-one percent of non-retirees have completed their goal of saving for a home - by far the largest percentage to complete any of the five possible financial goals, with 18% saying it is not one of their goals. Saving for Home Has Highest Completion Rate Among Savings Goals However, with the price of a college education continuing to rise, just over a quarter (27%) of investors trying to save for college who were interviewed in the Wells Fargo/Gallup survey can say they either have completed their goal of compiling enough savings for a child's education (15%) or have made a lot of progress (12%). investors are defined as adults with $10,000 or more invested in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, either within or outside a retirement savings account.Ī report this year from Sallie Mae shows that more Americans are putting away money to help pay for their children's college costs, including an increase in money invested in the 529 tax-advantage program designed to encourage saving for education expenses. Non-retired investors who say the goal is one of their financial goalsĪbout one in 10 (11%) with a child under the age of 18 say saving for a child's college education is not one of their financial goals.Īmong those who have this as a goal, the 38% saying they have made no progress is the largest number for any of five major financial goals measured in the third-quarter Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index survey, conducted Aug. Saving enough to live comfortably in retirement Gallup News Learn the attitudes & behaviors of the world’s 7 billion citizens at īuilding emergency fund of three or more months of income.Education Insights Our applicable and actionable best practices for education leaders.CliftonStrengths Insights Our proven strategies for successful strengths-based development.Workplace Insights Our thought leadership on the most important topics facing your organization.
CALL OF CHERNOBYL STASHES HOW TO
Education Solutions Learn how to improve your students’ development and engagement so they can thrive in and out of the classroom.CliftonStrengths Solutions Learn how to use the CliftonStrengths assessment and strengths-based development to accomplish your goals.Public Sector Solutions Learn how to discover the data you need to help your organization make better decisions and create meaningful change.Workplace Solutions Learn how to develop and engage employees to create an exceptional workplace and boost your business outcomes.