Investors More Concerned With College Savings Than Retirement

Parents with children under the age of 18 are slightly more concerned with college savings than retirement, a survey of 1,110 parents by Vanguard and Upromise Investments shows. Thirty-seven percent said saving for college was their No. 1 concern, and 34% said it was saving for retirement, the Associated Press reports. The third-ranked concern was saving for a house, car or other major purchase.

Among families with children under the age of 12, 64% were saving for college and 30% said that grandparents were helping them, and among families with children between 12 and 17, 59% were saving for college and 25% said that grandparents were helping them.

But they have a long way to being prepared for the costs of college, as the average balance in a college savings account was a mere $4,700 while the annual tuition at a private college is now $21,235 and at a public school, it's $5,491.

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.