Americans Save Little to Nothing, Study Says

Americans are saving little to nothing despite a low unemployment rate, stocks near all-time highs, improving wages and the Republican tax law, the consumer financial services company Bankrate said in a new study released Wednesday.

One in five Americans are adding nothing to their savings, despite the good times, Bankrate's survey revealed. The company said among people responding to the survey, two in five people say high expenses keep them from saving while one in six blame the economy.

"With a steady, significant share of the working population saving nothing or relatively little, it's virtually guaranteed that they'll be unable to afford a modest emergency expense or finance retirement," Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said in a statement. "That amounts to a financial fail."

In the survey, 33 percent of Americans said their expenses are the biggest saving road block. Another 16 percent said they don't have a good enough job and another 16 percent say they just haven't gotten around to it. Another 13 percent said that debt is keeping them from saving.

Bankrate said the average American has less than $5,000 in a financial account, a quarter to a fifth of what you should have, and those aged 55 to 64 who have retirement savings only carry $120,000 – which won't last long without regular paychecks, the website noted.

The financial services organization TIAA suggests that people should save 10 percent to 15 percent of their income for retirement and have three to nine months of income saved for emergencies.

The website PocketSmart.com wrote that with life expectancy expanding because of advances in medicine and public health, people are now living longer and needing more money to get by, so Americans should think about saving more and not less. It also said Social Security was created to be only a supplemental portion of a retiree's income.

"For those who need to save more, the path toward success involves using direct deposit where savings can be automated," Hamrick said in the Bankrate statement. "More Americans would do well to try to live beneath their means, rather than on the financial cutting edge."

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