Americans feeling squeezed in saving for retirement

Seventy-five percent of Americans are finding it harder to set money aside for retirement while keeping up with bills. A new survey found that a significant majority of Americans are relying on Social Security as a key source of retirement income. Sixty-four percent of respondents to a poll from BlackRock Inc. say that money will be “critical” to their livelihood after retiring. “I've spent a good part of my time talking to financial advisers about Social Security and the trend in engagement and interest level is very steep, compared with when we first started in 2008,” Rob Kron, head of Retirement Education for BlackRock, said in an interview. According to the money manager's 2014 Global Investor Pulse survey, 75% of Americans say it's hard to keep up with bills and save for retirement, with 43% calling it “very hard.” Threats Americans see to their financial future include the high cost of living, cited by 60.5%, the state of the economy, cited by 50% and health care costs, cited by 50%. Only about one in four Americans believes the economy and job market are getting better, despite recent employment and equity gains. In addition, Americans allocate about 42% of household income to expenses. “It's clear that immediate financial needs are hindering people's ability to focus on longer-term investment decisions and retirement planning," Rob Kapito, BlackRock's president, said in a statement. Despite the obstacles, among Americans who place a high priority on saving money, 71% are confident about achieving this goal. And — although 73% of Americans are concerned about being able to live comfortably in retirement — nearly seven in 10 who have prioritized this goal believe they will get there. That result, however, contradicts how Americans invest their money, according to the survey. For example, just 27% of Americans surveyed are more interested in investing in stocks today than five years ago; 18% are not interested in stocks at all. On average, 63% of Americans' total household savings and investments are in cash and cash-related products, and most intend to increase their commitment to cash over the next 12 months, according to the survey. “In a low-return environment, such as now, cash simply does not deliver the kind of investment performance that most investors need to reach their most critical objectives, like retirement," Mr. Kapito said.