Dealing With Debt: It’s very likely that debt is going to affect individuals’
ability to retire, according to a recent multi-generational study by Securian
Retirement, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based retirement services provider.
The survey, which includes responses from retired and working individuals,
found that 43 percent of non-retirees say that debt would affect their ability
to save for a comfortable retirement. Thirty-two percent of non-retirees who
have debt say they have cut back on their retirement savings as a result of it.
Fifty-two percent of retirees say they were in debt when they entered
retirement.
The top two financial goals for respondents overall were paying off debt and
saving for retirement. For survey respondents who already were retired, their
second goal was ensuring a comfortable retirement.
While seven in 10 respondents said that disposing of debt was a strong
priority, only four in 10 actually paid down more debt than they added during a
12-month period.
The survey, “Debt: The Blind Spot on America’s Road to Retirement,”
was conducted by Washington-based Mathew Greenwald & Associates, which
polled 2,061 consumers from different generations.
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