Almost 3 out of 10 Americans have no retirement savings

Experts have long warned that the United States is headed for a retirement crisis. New research shows just how dire that crisis could be.

The problem is not just that Americans aren't saving enough for retirement. More than one-quarter of them have no retirement savings at all, according to a new study by the personal finance website GoBankingRates.

The study surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults about their long-term savings, and the results were alarming: 28% had absolutely nothing saved for retirement. Not surprisingly, 30% doubted they'd ever be able to retire.

It's a predicament that many financial advisers are all too familiar with.

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"When individuals find themselves inadequately prepared for retirement, they confront limited options," said Ashley Folkes, founder of Inspired Wealth Solutions in Birmingham, Alabama. "They can opt to curtail spending and boost savings, postpone retirement, adjust to a simpler lifestyle or die early. People usually don't like those choices."

This lack of retirement readiness varied by age group. At the high end, 35% of Americans aged 35 to 44 had zero long-term savings; 33% of those aged 45 to 54 had the same problem. 

Taken together, those age groups largely cover Generation X, which was born between 1965 and 1980. Multiple studies have shown that Gen Xers, who came of age during the transition from pensions to 401(k)s, have struggled to save enough for retirement. A survey by the insurance firm Prudential found that 82% of Gen Xers are not confident they'll ever be able to fully retire.

But this was far from the only generation to fall behind. Twenty-eight percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 had nothing in their nest eggs, as did 25% of 55-to-64-year-olds.

How could so many people have no long-term savings? One answer is that a shocking 39% of Americans aren't contributing to a retirement plan, according to the study. This, too, varied by age — 43% of adults aged 35 to 44 had never put money in a retirement account, compared to 24% of those aged 18 to 24.

Access to retirement plans like 401(k)s is uneven in the American economy, because not all employers provide them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 73% of U.S. workers have access to a workplace retirement plan, and only 56% actually use them.

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But there are also other reasons why so many American piggy banks are empty. Wealth managers who have encountered this problem point to a number of cultural and economic maladies.

"The high cost of living is responsible for a lack of retirement savings," said Noah Damsky, a principal at Marina Wealth Advisors in Los Angeles. "Real wages have not kept up with costs."

Others find that clients have other, more urgent bills to pay off.

"I see this all the time in doing pro bono work," said Jonathan Swanburg, president of TSA Wealth Management in Houston, Texas. "Most often the person hasn't saved because all their extra money was going toward credit card debt. Any time they get close to being out of credit card debt, a new emergency pops up where they are right back in it."

In addition, some believe American culture encourages spending more than saving.

"Our society thrives on instant gratification, bombarding us from all angles," Folkes said. "This phenomenon often leads to lifestyle inflation, where our spending escalates in tandem with our earnings, resulting in a higher standard of living but insufficient savings."

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Breaking that habit requires building better ones. Fortunately, that's something advisers can help with.

"The solution has to start with budgeting," Swanburg said. "Once the person can get out of debt and build up an emergency reserve, then they can start saving for the long-term. And by getting their budget in order, they will likely have reduced their expenses where they don't need as much to one day retire."