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More than half of Americans are worried about having enough money to retire

Money anxiety highest among those 30 to 64 years old

Kentucky Retirement Systems, the state pension system, is underfunded by more than $30 billion — more than $3 billion last year alone.SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (July 24, 2014) — A Gallup poll released in April shows that 59 percent of Americans are very or moderately worried about not having enough money for their retirement years. The study also shows that money anxiety over retirement was the highest among eight other categories of financial concerns such as ability to pay for medical costs and money to maintain standard of leaving.

Money anxiety over retirement varies by age groups. The age group of 30-64 reported the highest level of money anxiety. Among this age group, 70 percent indicated that money anxiety over retirement is their highest financial concern. The second highest age group was 50-64 with 68 percent of respondents indicating that retirement is their greatest cause of money anxiety.

The study shows that the percentage of people with money anxiety over retirement fluctuated in the last decade from a low of 52 percent during the last economic boom in 2004 to a high of 66 percent during the aftermath of the Great Recession in 2010. The fluctuation in the level of worry over retirement mirrors the pattern of the Money Anxiety Index, which reached a low of 57.3 in April of 2004 and increased to a high of 96.2 in November of 2010. The Money Anxiety Index average for the past 50 years stands at 70.7 index points.