Americans Lag Globally in Retirement Readiness

How do Americans stack up with the rest of the world in terms of their retirement readiness? Not that well, according to a new report from HSBC.

Nearly one in five working-age Americans (18%) believe they will never be able to afford to retire. Globally, only 12% saw such a bleak future for themselves.

The retirement outlook was even gloomier for Americans living alone. One in three divorced or separated Americans (33%) said they do not believe they will ever be able to retire, substantially more than the 20% who said so globally.

According to the study, Americans were far less diligent about their retirement planning than people in other countries. More than two in five Americans already in retirement (44%) said they had not prepared adequately or at all for a comfortable retirement, compared to some 38% globally. And among Americans who had not prepared adequately, 12% said they would be forced to go back to work to cover their financial shortfall. Globally, 14% said they would have to return to the workforce.

The study, titled “Life After Work,” polled more than 16,000 people in 15 countries and territories between July 2012 and April 2013.

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