Study: Fewer than 1 in 3 Americans expect to fully retire

Fewer than one in three Americans expect they will ever be able to fully retire, a new study commissioned by Scottrade shows.

This represents a decline from 39 percent in 2008 to 32 percent this year.

Scottrade’s 2009 American Retirement Study shows that 43 percent of Americans said their accounts decreased 10 percent or more since last year. The study also indicated that nearly two-thirds of Americans said they do not plan to contribute to an IRA, up from just over half last year.

Baby Boomers (67 percent) and Gen Xers (64 percent) are the generations most concerned about having enough money for retirement, according to the study.

“Boomers have been hit the hardest by the current downturn and have the least time to recover. As a result, nearly 75 percent of Boomers fear full retirement will not be an option for them,” said Chris Moloney, Scottrade’s chief marketing officer and executive director of customer intelligence, in a statement. “Although Gen Xers have more time to save, their deep fears about retirement parallel Boomers’ because increased stress around managing day-to-day expenses is threatening their ability to save.”

The Gen Y generation, however, is slightly more confident this year that they will be able to save enough to fully retire, the study shows.

St. Louis-based Scottrade is an online investment brokerage and one of the area’s largest privately held companies.