Nearly three out of four Americans have financial regrets, with failing to start saving for retirement early enough the biggest concern, according to a new survey from Bankrate.
As the struggling economy faces a potential recession amid persistent inflation, Federal Reserve hawkishness, weakened bank lending and reduced government spending, Americans are worrying about their savings, chiefly retirement.
Regrets about retirement and credit card debt top the list: According to the Bankrate survey, 74% of adults have a financial regret, with 1 in 5, or 21%, citing not starting to save for retirement early enough as their biggest regret.
Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Save up to 74%
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Other standouts include having too much credit card debt (15%), not having enough saved for an emergency (14%), too much student loan debt (5%), too little saved for children's education (3%), and having purchased a home they can't afford (3%). Another 12% said they had some other key financial regret.
Regrets leaned more heavily toward overall lack of savings (41%), including retirement, emergencies and education, vs. too much debt (24%), including credit cards, student loans, or housing costs. Of those surveyed, 20% say they have no financial regrets, and 6% aren't sure what their biggest financial regrets are.
Baby boomers most concerned about not saving for retirement soon enough: Concerns about retirement savings increase with age, with younger respondents more likely to cite worries about not having enough saved for an emergency.
Of those surveyed, 34% of baby boomers (ages 59-77) said they regret not saving for retirement soon enough, vs. 26% of Gen X (ages 43-58), 11% of millennials (ages 27-42) and 5% of Gen Z (ages 18-26)
Financial regrets correlated to higher stress levels: Having financial regrets seems to correlate with higher stress levels, with almost half of those citing a financial regret (48%) also saying their stress level has accelerated since last year, including 21% who say their stress level has increased greatly.
The survey, conducted by YouGov Plc on behalf of Bankrate in mid-June, included 3,684 U.S. adults, including 2,733 who said that they had a financial regret.
Related Content
To continue reading this article
please register for free
This is different from signing in to your print subscription
Why am I seeing this? Find out more here
FAQs
Regrets about retirement and credit card debt top the list: According to the Bankrate survey, 74% of adults have a financial regret, with 1 in 5, or 21%, citing not starting to save for retirement early enough as their biggest regret.
What percent of the US population is struggling financially? ›
Almost half of Americans say they are having a hard time staying where they are financially, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted by Monmouth University's Polling Institute and released Wednesday, found 46 percent of Americans surveyed said they are struggling to remain where they are financially.
What percentage of Americans have $1000 in savings? ›
Key Takeaways. More than one in four Americans (28%) have savings below $1,000. This is the case for 32% of Gen Zers, followed by Millennials at 31%, Gen X at 27% and Baby Boomers at 20%.
What percent of Americans worry about money? ›
Additionally, more than half of Americans (55%) report having a love-hate relationship with money and that they: Sometimes overfocus on how much money they have or don't have (60%) Always worry about money even when they have enough (56%)
What percent of people regret retiring? ›
About one-third of retirees wished they'd stayed on the job for longer, according to the NBER study. Of those surveyed, 52% said they regretted undersaving, while 19% revealed they regretted claiming Social Security too early.
Are 77% of Americans anxious about their financial situation? ›
Roughly 77% of Americans are anxious about their personal finances4, and 58% feel that their personal finances are controlling their life4. These feelings of financial stress are not new.
What percent of Americans are financially free? ›
SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite most Americans having modest expectations of what it means to attain financial freedom, just 1-in-10 (11%) report they are living their definition of financial freedom, according to a new survey by Achieve, the leader in digital personal finance.
Can I retire at 55 with 300k? ›
Can I retire at 55 with £300k? On average for a comfortable retirement, an individual will spend £43,100 a year, whilst the average couple in retirement spends £59,000 a year. This means if you retire at 55 with £300k, an individual will run out of funds in approximately 7 years, and a couple in 5 years.
What percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck? ›
How Many Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck? A 2023 survey conducted by Payroll.org highlighted that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, a 6% increase from the previous year. In other words, more than three-quarters of Americans struggle to save or invest after paying for their monthly expenses.
How many Americans have over $100,000 in savings? ›
How many Americans have $100,000 in savings? About 26% of U.S. households had more than $100,000 in savings in retirement accounts as of 2022, according to USAFacts, a nonprofit organization that analyzes data from the Federal Reserve and other government agencies.
What are Americans' main financial challenges? Over the past two years, more respondents cited inflation as the reason for their financial difficulties than any other cause. Inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 and has yet to return to the Fed's target of 2%.
What percentage of Americans have $10,000 saved? ›
Most Americans have $5,000 or less in savings
| Savings account balance | Percentage of respondents |
|---|
| $500 to $1,000 | 8% |
| $1,001 to $5,000 | 22% |
| $5,001 to $10,000 | 8% |
| $10,000 to $20,000 | 7% |
3 more rowsOct 18, 2023
Nearly Half Have Less Than $500 in Savings: How To Build Up Your Balance in 2024. According to a recent survey by GOBankingRates, nearly half of Americans have less than $500 in savings — and almost 60% of Americans have less than $1,000 saved up.
What is the most common life regret? ›
According to Bronnie Ware, the five most common regrets shared by people nearing death were:
- "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
- "I wish I hadn't worked so hard."
- "I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings."
Housing. Housing—which includes mortgage, rent, property tax, insurance, maintenance and repair costs—is the largest expense for retirees. More specifically, the average retiree household pays an average of $17,472 per year ($1,456 per month) on housing expenses, representing almost 35% of annual expenditures.
How many Americans have no 401k? ›
And yet, Americans are 15 times more likely to save for retirement when they have access to a workplace plan. Yet, nearly 57 million people do not have access to a retirement plan at work.
How many people are financially underserved in the US? ›
More than 45 Million Americans are Either Credit Unserved or Underserved; Approximately 20% Migrate to Being Credit Active Every Two Years.
What percentage of US population is poor? ›
12.4% of Americans now live in poverty according to new 2022 data from the U.S. census, an increase from 7.4% in 2021. Child poverty also more than doubled last year to 12.4% from 5.2% the year before.
What percent of Americans struggle with debt? ›
Even though household net worth is on the rise in America (at $156 trillion at the end of 2023)—so is debt. The total personal debt in the U.S. is at an all-time high of $17.5 trillion. The average American debt (per U.S. adult) is $66,772, and 77% of American households have at least some type of debt.
What percent of people in the US are broke? ›
While 48.6% of Americans in our survey say they feel “broke,” only 11.5% of all Americans actually fall below the poverty line, according to the Center for American Progress.
