Many Americans worry that they'll spend the last years of their lives in poverty. A new survey reveals that two-thirds of U.S. adults believe there is "some chance" they will outlive their savings.
Furthermore, the poll of 2,646 adults that was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Northwestern Mutual found that a third of adults believe they are more likely than not to survive to see their savings vanish.
Fourteen percent believe they will definitely be broke before they die.
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People's lack of confidence in their own savings mirrors their attitudes towards Social Security. A mere quarter of respondents believe the social insurance program will be there for them when they retire. And while roughly half of current retirees depend primary on Social Security for income, only 35 percent of current workers say they expect it to be their primary source of income.
What are the pressures preventing people from saving?
Twenty-seven percent say their main obstacle is debt, while 26 percent say they need to make more money. Obviously, those two problems are often linked.
Mortgages are the most common type of debt (29 percent), followed by credit cards (23 percent). Student loans, however, are on the rise and will occupy a much greater percentage of U.S. debt in the coming years.
In addition, 45 percent of respondents cited health care costs as a major barrier to saving for retirement.
Nearly half of Americans believe their finances will improve in 2016. But only 31 percent believe the overall U.S. economy will improve.
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