Most Americans Not Saving Enough Money For Retirement, Survey Shows

BOSTON (CBS) -- In a new survey, a majority of Americans say they saved the same amount of money, or less, for retirement this year compared to last.

Ten percent say they are not even saving one penny.

Greg McBride of BankRate.com, which conducted the study, says the percentage of people who hadn't contributed to their retirement savings either this year or last year was the highest they'd seen in the past several years.

For the rest of country, McBridge says things are a little brighter.

"We actually have seen that more Americans are saying they (are) actually increasing their retirement savings this year as compared to last year rather than cutting back," he said.

And taking a closer look, those who save stand out.

"We've seen the people that are saving less in sharp decline," he said.

"The people that save more each successive year has been moving its way higher over the past several years."

And if you stop paying yourself, McBride says it "Becomes an issue over time because you don't get to go back and make up for those contributions you missed in previous years."

Any financial adviser will tell even millennials to save the moment they start work.

New employees are automatically defaulted into the plan and money is automatically taken out and put into the 401(k).

But socking away money for yourself isn't the final answer.

"You have more people participating, that's good...that's a step in the right direction, but the problem is people don't save enough," McBride says.

"You have to ramp up your saving, you have to save more each year (and) you have to challenge yourself."

So how much should you save?

"I think the target to be aiming for here is about 15 percent of income," he said.

"If you're putting away 15 percent of income for retirement, you're certainly going to be on track to meet your goals."

A penny saved truly is a penny, or more, earned.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jeff Brown reports