Republicans are saving for retirement; Democrats, not so much — they have other priorities.
According to the 2016 Election Survey from San Carlos, California-based online financial advisory firm Personal Capital, Americans are a lot more worried about such major issues as the state of the economy, health care and terrorism than they are about retirement. But Republicans are more likely to have a retirement account than Democrats.
In addition, one out of every five working-age Americans has no retirement savings at all, no matter what their political affiliations.
That doesn’t mean that they’re not worried about such things, but they’re far more worried about terrorism, with 48 percent citing that as their chief worry. After that, 33 percent are more worried about the state of the economy and 31 percent are more focused on health care.
And when it comes to retirement security, it’s barely a blip on the political radar screen, despite other worries about the economy. Only 8 percent of respondents listed retirement security as a top concern going into this year's election.
And younger people are feeling better about their eventual retirement than older ones, with 20 percent of millennials saying so compared with just 12 percent of those aged 35–54.
Of course, they have a longer time horizon in which to prepare — assuming they can get a handle on student debt. In fact, younger people see education as a priority issue this election (31 percent), behind terrorism (43 percent) but ahead of the economy (28 percent), with only 7 percent listing retirement savings as a top issue.
Both Republicans and Democrats are worried about what might happen to their retirements should the opposition candidate win the election.
When asked about retirement, 64 percent of Republicans and 18 percent of Democrats are “more worried” about their retirement savings if Clinton is elected, while 59 percent of Democrats and 15 percent of Republicans are “more worried” about their retirement savings if Trump is elected.
No matter what their party, millennials feel “very unfavorable” toward Trump (57 percent overall) and are “more worried” about retirement savings if he is elected (49 percent).
Households that earn under $50,000 say they are “more worried” if Trump is elected; households that earn over $50,000 say they are “more worried” if Clinton is elected. And just 19 percent of Clinton supporters and 18 percent of Trump supporters report feeling “confident” with their retirement savings.
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