More expect to work past 70: survey

Americans are more concerned than ever about retirement. At the same time, they are less confident that they will be able to retire.

A survey of nearly 5,000 US workers released last week by Willis Towers Watson indicates that more than 1 in 3 (37 percent) expect to work past age 70, an increase from 30 percent two years ago. Only 1 in 4 (26 percent) expect to be able to retire before age 65, down from 29 percent in 2015.

Three in 4 respondents to the WTW survey believe that their generation is likely to be much less financially ready to retire than their parents’ generation, and two-thirds believe So- cial Security benefits will be much lower when they retire, while roughly the same proportion predict that government medical benefits will be worse.

The survey also revealed a gender gap when it comes to retirement, with 60 percent of working men ranking saving for retirement as a top priority, while women scored 44 percent accord- ing to this measure.

In fact, saving for retirement was the fifth-highest priority for most women, who ranked meeting daily living costs (64 percent) and paying off debt (57 percent) as their top concerns.

“Saving for retirement is a significant challenge for the vast majority of working Americans,” said Shane Bartling, senior consultant with Willis Towers Watson. “Varying financial needs make building a retirement nest egg difficult for many men and women. While our survey finds that women place a lower priority on saving for retirement than men do, we believe that it’s a question of ‘Am I able to save for retirement?’ rather than ‘Is saving for retirement important?’”