Retirement Planning and Investment

In April, 1997, nearly 4,000 netizens responded to our survey and told us what they thought about retirement planning and investments.

• Although 36% of the sample has not begun saving for retirement, about 34% say they have been saving for anywhere between 1 to 10 years.
• Most respondents (42%) plan to retire in about 30 years from now.
• The majority (57%) of the sample plan to save 1% to 10% of their gross wages.
• About 44% feel that they need more that $750,000 to retire.
• Many (28%) feel that less than 5% of their retirement income is likely to be generated from government funding.
• Far more optimism is expressed with regard to retirement income expected from a company pension plan. As many as 42% feel that more than 20% of their retirement income is likely to be generated via their company's pension plan.
• More than half (58%) have investments in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.
• An overwhelming majority (80%) of the sample feels that investing in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds is a safe investment.
• Over half (56%) have visited a web site that offers information about securities such as stock prices or stock news.
• Although about 57% do not own any financial software, as many as 28% not only own it, but also find it useful.
• About 30% perceive the yearly inflation rate to be around 3% to 4% and expect this trend to continue for the next 10 years.
• About 27% of the sample read a financial publication at least once a month.

You can have the entire report, which includes crosstabs, tables, and demographic information for $1,350. For information, please call Janet Westergaard at 310-373-1894 (she'll usually answer her phone between 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m. PST), or send her an email message at westergaard@mindspring.com.

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