7 Reasons Americans Can’t Save for Retirement

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I am a widow and at 60 I could receive Widows SS off my late husband but it barely pays the mortgage. I can't work without paying taxes and can't earn over a specified amount or the SS benefit is lessened. Between a rock and a hard place to make ends meet. Yet illegal immigrants don't have to follow our rules.....and this is without even mentioning health care costs at age 62.....America why can't we help OUR OWN ???

E Schneider of NY 8:11PM May 09, 2013

Doesn't take a genius financial person to figure out why people aren't saving. Reading the comments tells me that people working in this country, paying taxes and not mooching the system all have the same problem as middle class Americans. Salaries don't give us enough money to live on with the cost of living so ridiculous. It would be interesting to see the percentage of Americans working 2 and 3 jobs just to make ends meet. It would probably be shocking.
Of course, any of these bozo's that are making laws and trying to tell us what we should be doing aren't living with a terrible income like some of us have to.
Another comment....stay out of these stuupid religious wars we're getting into. WE CAN'T AFFORD TO HELP ALL THESE COUNTRIES ANYMORE if your going to tax us to death. They don't help us with anything. How many other countries showed up during the New York hurricane or the New Orleans disaster or any other disaster our country has. No one to my knowledge. Knock it off. Let them fend for themselves for awhile till we get back on our feet if we ever do. It all makes me sick.

Sharri Paige of MN 2:47PM April 01, 2013

While the intentions of the author is to educate the reader I think this synopsis of the 7 Reasons are breath and not depth. These are the easy reasons, not the more difficult ones (I mean no offense here). This article could have been 1 Reason and expanded on the "Little Employer Help". There is no denying Americans have too much debt, no denying we don't save enough and that we lack knowledge on how to manage our money. Yet, employers have shifted more responsibility and benefit expenses upon their employees and kept their wages relatively flat compared to senior executive salaries. CEO's have very little difficulty retiring. Expand upon why employers are of little help and I believe the shift to these 7 reasons will expand accordingly.

Evan Cole of CA 1:48PM March 31, 2013

Every thing keeps going up in price, But the pay checks can not keep up with the inflation. Look at the cost of food and then look at the gas prices and then lets look at daycare cost for people who have children. Lets not for get the american dream , where every one wants to buy a home . The average worker can not afford the American dream. It maks me sick. I became disabled 7 years ago and live on SS . I only collect 802. a month and I have to make my house payment out of that and pay for my gas electric and water Tv and Phone. When I am done I have nothing left to make any repairs on my car. I have worked all of my life. It is really hard to get by these days. The Rich get richer and the poor get poorer.and that is just the way it is and our goverment does not care about the little people. They only care about what is going to benefit them the best. After all when they retire they will have medical Insurance the rest of their life and a big fat paycheck to go with it. Look at every thing you buy at the store now they have cut every thing in size and they still charge us the same price for a smaller size than what we were getting before. They are all doing it. Once was a 12 inch pizza is now a 7 inch pizza. I know I measured it. They cut the Oz. back on every thing . But we are still paying the same price and getting less. We are being Scamed . Just like toilet paper. look at the price of that. None of it is as soft as it use to be and we use to get 2ply. now we are only getting 1 ply. But we are still paying for that 2ply. price. and it's thousand of items they are getting away with doing this to us. And No one Stands up for us and speaks about this. It Is Not Right. I am Pissed

Bonnie of IL 11:43PM February 23, 2013

Excuse me, but how can anyone save money when rents and utilities are soaking us and that's not all we have to buy to stay alive ? Greed runs amok especially in cities like New York $3800 for a one bedroom in an just okay building ? It's outrageous how luxury buildings are going up everywhere you turn they are even turning the only hospital in the west village St. Vincent into luxury apartments, so now we don't have a hospital in the village anymore and don't forget prices keep going on everything, but our paychecks don't. This is disgusting and these developers and landlords should be ashamed.

Rick of NY 10:16AM August 08, 2012

This looks like a big readjustment phase we are going through in our country. It appears somewhere it was decided that the masses are too well off and need to be downgraded so the elite can reap more of the wealth being produced. I can't understand why anyone would want us to become a third world country where the majority of the population consist of peasants. That is too bad, and sadly it cannot be stopped.

JR of CA 1:38PM July 14, 2012

@ Diane, Sorry to hear of your most unfortunate circumstance...It is sad that employers can do this without any recourse....and yet there are so many that still think Unions are a bad thing....Things like this woould not happen in a Union represented workplace....Wake up people...! Good luck to you Diane, in the future..

J Johnson of TX 2:03PM January 29, 2012

Evidently not everyone is having money issues...... The Obamas rented out an EIGHT MILLION dollar property in Hawaii just for Christmas vacation....that sure beats where "cousin Eddie" took his family!
Gee, I wonder if they have enough money now for their girls' gifts.....
Imagine having their financial situation.....even if for just for one day!....
and to think...some people are homeless in the USA....even on Christmas!

Joan of NH 12:28PM December 25, 2011

I live paycheck to paycheck, how can I possibly save for retirement, when I need every penny now? I have to choose between eating, and paying the bills, and God forbid, I get sick and need a doctor. no insurance answers that question, I go to work sick, and hope I will get well soon.

Mary Haynor of MI 9:59PM November 02, 2011

I received a 401K check when the company that I worked for sold out to another company. I had to use this money to survive and paid penalties to do so. I was also permanently laid off, from the company that I had another 401K with, and again, had to use the money to survive. At age 55, I lost everything that I had worked 28 years to get, now how was I supposed to save anything?
After 99 weeks of unemployment and having to go to college at age 56, I have nothing left. I also lost my property and had to start all over. The federal government gave me a student loan of $10000.00, which I have to pay back. I went from $40,000 per year, to now making $11.00 an hour, which amounts to half of what I was making. My house payment was increased to $1400.00 per month from $850.00 per month, when I was working. I could not qualify for any assistance from anyone, because I was receiving $350.00 per week on unemployment. I also had to file bankruptcy through all of this. This all happened due to my company downsizing and deciding that I did not have any experience after 28 years of service with them. I also contacted the EEOC, which did nothing for me because I did not have any witnesses to say that I had been harrassed during my employment of 28 years. So where are my rights as a US citizen? I have none. I am now 58 years old and had to move in with my boyfriend. I lost my house, my car, my credit cards, my job, my pride and my dignity, all because I had a boss that bullied me around and no one would do anything about it. I also was not able to put into social security for 99 weeks and then some. How was I supposed to save for my future? My future was controlled by a woman who became a control freak and made me work 80-90 hours per week on a salary that was based on 45 hours per week. I worked weekends for free and it was mandatory. She work purposely make me work late hours and let others go home early, she denied me the right to take vacation when I wanted to, she tried to keep me from family functions and make me work, when she knew that I had something going on, she also denied me seeing my granddaughter being born, when I had requested a floating vacation day months prior to her birth. I was also injured on the job and she failed to fill out a report. This was a wonderful environment to work in. What chance did I have for the future??????? All of my savings are now gone, due to a control freak that wanted to go as high up in the company and was willing to do anything to anyone to succeed. By the way, she was only there 5 years prior to my layoff................................

Diane of OH 9:51AM October 01, 2011