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Most Arkansans not prepared for retirement, AARP poll finds Saturday, Oct 27, 2007 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Nearly half of all Arkansans 40 and over say they have not tried to figure out how much money they need to save to live comfortably in retirement, AARP found in a poll released Friday. Forty-five percent of Arkansans surveyed said they have not evaluated how prepared they are for retirement, according to the poll commissioned by the senior citizen advocacy group. "We really are going to have to work on educating people and helping them find the right path for themselves," AARP Arkansas President Billie Ann Myers said at a news conference. Other the other hand, another 45 percent of respondents said they were extremely confident they had done a good job preparing financially for retirement. Woelfel Research Inc. surveyed 803 randomly-selected Arkansans aged 40 and older during the second week of October. Results were weighted by age and gender, and the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. For a couple to live modestly in retirement, AARP officials estimate that between $1 million and $2 million is needed. Many Arkansas will not near those levels if they continue in their current saving and investing habits, the poll suggested. One-third of survey respondents said they have not saved money for retirement, mainly because they do not have enough income to save or because they have high everyday expenses. About one-fourth said they are not too or not at all confident they have sufficiently prepared themselves financially for retirement or will have enough money for medical expenses or to live comfortably. Four in 10 were not confident they will have enough money to cover long-term care expenses. Nearly all respondents said they expect Social Security to be a top source of income for their retirement. Social Security and a pension alone will not be adequate, AARP officials said, mentioning four pillars of financial security in retirement - pension, personal retirement savings, social security and health care. "We really have to look at all four of those pillars if we're going to live long lives and have modest retirements," Myers said. |
