What is the relationship between gas prices and retirement?
The price of a gallon of gas is now above $3.00. Many are feeling the pain in their financial portfolio. How does this affect retirement?
Having paid more to drive in the last six months, three out of four Americans said higher living costs prevented them from saving more for retirement.
The Fidelity Retirement Index, which analyzes American households’ overall retirement readiness, found that among Americans whose savings plans were pinched by higher living costs, nearly one in two had cut the amount to be saved for retirement. Thus the higher price of gas has cut the amount going into savings toward retirement, that is how they are related.
Three out of four working Americans said they do not have a formal retirement plan that spells out how much they need to save to live comfortably in their golden years.
Now is the time to look at what you will need to do to build your retirement account. Budgeting now to save for later is a great idea.
Perhaps you have had a checking or savings account you have not used in five years or more. Check with your savings institution and be sure it was not marked dormant. If the account was marked dormant you can still claim these assets. Go to www.CashUnclaimed.com for a free unclaimed property search. There you will be able to search all state and federal databases for any unclaimed money.
