Most Americans are not ready for retirement

Once more we are being reminded of how financially ill-equipped many of us are. Only 42 percent have tried to figure out how much they will need for retirement, according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, and within the 45-to- 59-year-old bracket, the figure is 51 percent. These sorts of findings pop up now and then, but they never get much attention. And yet each day several thousand baby boomers turn 65. How on earth are these people going to survive? From Real Time Economics:

So who is to blame? "It's hard to point a finger," [says study author Annamaria Lusardi]. "It takes two to tango. But it's certainly true that this economy in the past 10 years has made it very difficult for people to make decisions. We've shifted the responsibility to individuals and they don't have the capability to make those decisions. Still, some of the things we found in the survey are going to be with us for several years."

It's not just retirees who are struggling.

Half of survey respondents said they had trouble keeping up with monthly expenses such as bills. Only half of those surveyed said they had rainy day funds set aside that would cover them for three months in the event of a severe loss of income, such as a layoff or illness. Only a quarter of those earning $25,000 or less had rainy day funds, half (53%) of those with incomes between $25,000 to $75,000 said they did and a quarter of those earning more than $75,000 did.