Savings—or the lack thereof—are a big part of the problem — 27 percent of Europeans have no savings; though in Australia, it's a little better, with just 22 percent being savings-less. (Photo: Shutterstock)
People across the globe are worried about saving enough for retirement, according to a new ING survey, and retirees aren't happy about their standard of living in retirement.
Those are some of the findings in the ING International Survey Savings 2019, which finds that 61 percent of people in 13 European countries are afraid they'll run out of money in retirement—and the numbers in the U.S. and Australia are similar.
Among European retirees, about half say that their standard of living has deteriorated from when they were working, with 39 percent of those who haven't yet retired saying they expect their retirement checks will be smaller than what they paid into their pensions.
In addition, 54 percent of Europeans say they'll have to stick with the old grindstone to make additional money once they're officially retired—and the report adds that studies imply that many will end up, as do many in the U.S., retiring before they'd planned, and not because they want to.
Savings—or the lack thereof—are a big part of the problem, with 27 percent of Europeans having no savings; it's the same in the U.S., with 27 percent not having any money set aside. In Australia, it's a little better, with just 22 percent being savings-less.
And while it's recommended that people have a three-to-six-month savings buffer set aside for emergencies—and this is not retirement savings, mind—42 percent of Europeans who actually have savings have no more than three months' worth of take-home pay saved up.
Lots of Europeans are having a tough time saving for anything at all; in fact, 66 percent of those who have no savings say they just aren't earning enough to set anything aside.
Another 14 percent have been done in by unexpected expenses that have devoured their pay, leaving nothing for a rainy day, and 51 percent say there's just too much month left at the end of the money—with many having to do without—or borrowing just to make it through till their next payday. That, of course, exacerbates the situation.
Unfortunately, apps aren't helping. Tech trends aside, apps are only making it easier for many Europeans to access their money sooner and more often, draining it away faster for half of Europeans who use them instead of smoothing the way toward more efficient money management.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
