Voices

EY Sees Disparities in Financial Wellness

Ernst & Young has released the results of a new survey on financial wellness, indicating that many people have no idea how much they will need to retire.

EY polled more than 3,000 people between the ages of 18 to over 65 between May and July of this year. Most of them are employed by large corporations and nonprofit organizations. Asked about the last time they tried to determine how much they would need to save for retirement, 45 percent of the respondents reported estimating their needs within the last 12 months. However, 37 percent of those over the age of 50 said they had never tried. Almost 41 percent of 18–25 year olds have begun to think about retirement planning.

Overall, 43 percent of the survey respondents said they are confident they’re on track for a comfortable retirement, but that percentage is down 8 points from the 51 percent who said they were on the right track since they were polled in February. Six percent admitted they don’t contribute anything to a retirement savings plan such as a 401(k), 403(b) or another type of workforce retirement plan, while 14 percent contribute 3 percent or less.  

Nearly 77 percent of the respondents said their current level of debt was manageable (up 4 percentage points from February), with 7 percent saying they had no debt at all. Of those who are just beginning their careers or just out of college (18-25 year olds) 62 percent of the respondents said their debt was manageable, while of those who are over the age of 50, approximately 80 percent agreed.

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