Poll: 69% are very worried about running out of money in retirement

Those are rough calculations, the academy cautions, but they point to an inescapable conclusion: Retirement in the future will be longer than it is now— and, sometimes, longer than your working career.

Paying for a long retirement ranks high on the list of worries that come with long life. Sixty- nine percent of respondents to an ABC News/USA TODAY poll on longevity cited “ running out of money” as a top concern. Not surprisingly, those with income above $100,000 were less worried than those with less income. Just 20% of those with income of less than $35,000 felt con; dent that they would have enough money in retirement.

Worried or not, rich or poor, most people haven’t done enough about retirement. Fewer than half of U.S. workers have tried to estimate how much they will need in retirement, according to the 2005 Retirement Con ; dence Survey by the Employee Bene ; t Research Institute, a non-pro; t retirement think tank. It getsworse:

uOnly 60% of workers are currently saving for retirement.

uFewer than 40% have an individual retirement account.

uMore than half felt they were behind schedule in saving for retirement, with 32% rating themselves as “ a lot behind schedule.”

So it’s not surprising that many don’t enter retirement with enough money. A quarter of all workers rely solely on Social Security when they retire. Two- thirds rely primarily on Social Security. The average bene ; t: $959 a month.

“ Everyone expects to live long, but no one plans for it,” says John Markese, president of the American Association of Individual Investors. Want to have a long, comfortable retirement? You can increase your odds by:

uStarting early.

If you don’t start saving until you’re 50, it’s unlikely you’ll have enough to retire when you’re 65. It’s a no- brainer: To get $1 million in 15 years, you’ll have to save $ 3,750 a month and earn 6% a year on your money. To get $1 million in 40 years, you need to save $550 a month.

Kermit Heck is 65 and retired — but he’s been retired since 1997. He has been saving for retirement ever since IRAs became widely available in the early 1980s. He decided to retire early when a good friend died at age 58. “ I told my wife, ‘ We have to enjoy some of this money,’ ” Heck says. The Hecks put $80,000 aside to pay for medical insurance until they could qualify for Medicare, left their jobs, and moved from Dayton, Ohio, to Pueblo West, Colo.

Winn, who retired from his job as a chemical engineer at 56, says he’s been investing for more than 50 years, concentrating mainly on companies he knew through work. He started when he banded together with a few friends to buy stock of his employer, Hercules Chemical. Back then, commissions were extremely steep, and buying in round lots — 100 shares or more — meant big savings. Eventually, the company began a savings plan and matched contributions at 25%.

uSaving as much as you can. People often concentrate on their rate of return. But the single biggest factor that determines the size of your retirement kitty is how much you invest. Put away $500 a month for 30 years, and you’ll have about $ 1.1 million — if you earn 10% a year. Save $900 a month, and you’ll have $ 1.1 million, too, but you’ll only have to earn a more realistic 7% a year.

Heck didn’t just stuff his IRAs every year and hope for hot returns He funded his company’s 401( k) savings plan, too, and formed an investment club. He ran it for 15 years, and it eventually grew to 30 members.

uInvesting in stocks for the long term.

“ My suggestion is to start early and put a good deal of it in stocks or mutual funds,” says Winn. Even though the stock market has had all the charm of a dead mackerel the past ; ve years, the historical evidence is clear: Your odds of beating the returns from bank CDs and money funds soar if you invest in stocks for long periods of time — preferably 15 years or longer. Stocks have gained an average 10.4% a year since 1926, vs. 3.7% for ultrasafe Treasury bills.

Helen Bradley, of Miami, began investing when she inherited a small amount of money from her stepmother in 1980. She was able to add more in 1992 when her husband retired and took a lump- sum payout instead of a pension. She began taking courses from the American Association of Individual Investors. “ I spent an awful long time learning to do it,” she says.

Unless you have $20 million, don’t expect someone to manage your money for you, says Bradley, 73. “ No one is going to hold your hand,” she says. “ You’re going to have to learn to do it yourself.”

Fortunately, it’s easier and cheaper to invest today. “ The research you can get for free on your computer is phenomenal,” says Winn. “ I can sit down at 6 every night and know the value of my portfolio.”

uStaying diversi ed.

If you’re very, very lucky, you may be able to retire by investing in just one stock. But that’s relying on luck. And if you’re very, very unlucky, investing in just one stock may mean retiring with nothing, as some workers at failed energy broker Enron discovered.

Winn has 31 stocks and 42 mutual funds, as well as some annuities. He sticks mainly with stocks of companies he knows, which means mostly petroleum and utility companies, as well as companies that produce commodities, such as coal and steel. “ I feel con ; dent getting into sectors I’ve worked with in the past,” he says.

Bradley’s portfolio is mainly in cash now, because she can’t ; nd stocks she thinks are attractive. Normally, however, she’swidely diversi ; ed in number of different investments— even options.

Even with early planning and smart investing, chances are you’ll have to work in retirement. For most people, pensions are a thing of the past. Just 20% of all privatesector workers participate in a pension plan today, down from 27% in 1984. If you want a long, comfortable retirement, retirees say, you’re going to have to work at it. An extra income, even a reduced one, will provide a cushion in your ; rst few years of retirement. The longer you can let your retirement money grow, the better off you’ll be.

There’s an added bene ; t. Winn went back to school after he retired and worked another 15 years as a real estate agent. “ I didn’t want to sit around and watch TV,” he says. “ I made money and had fun.”

Bradley took investing so seriously that she launched a retirement career as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers. She helps decide whether an investor has been wronged by a broker or ; nancial adviser. “ It’s a lot of fun,” she says.

Whether or not you work, you’re going to have to spend time minding your investments, even when you retire. Managing your retirement fund is a big job: Heck spends one to two hours a day managing his portfolio.

Bradley has a pension from American Airlines, but most of her retirement money comes from her savings. She spends ; ve to six hours a day minding her portfolio. “ If you want to have a good, balanced portfolio that allows you to make some money, you have to work at it,” she says.

But don’t be daunted, she adds. “ It’s not rocket science. You need a few basic concepts and a little math. You can do it.”