Work to Do on Retirement Preparedness in the Old Dominion

A majority of Virginia registered voters age 45 and older support a state retirement savings plan, according to a recent survey. Part of the explanation for that may be another of AARP Virginia’s findings: that many of the Virginians coming closer to retirement age do not feel confident regarding their retirement readiness.

The vast majority of Virginia voters age 45 and older — 86% — said that given their savings and investments, they would like to have saved more toward retirement. Sixty percent said they are not confident they will be able to supply themselves with the basics when they are retired. And more than one-third said they have not even determined how much they should save by the time they retire.

AARP Virginia State Director Bill Kallio in a press release said that half of Virginia employees work for employers that offer a retirement plan. That represents missed opportunity, he indicated, noting that employees are 13 times more likely to save for retirement if they can do so through a workplace retirement plan.

Given those statistics, it should come as no surprise that more than half of respondents said that they are likely to delay retiring as long as possible.