Many Americans are not prepared for retirement: Fed survey-

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Many U.S. households are not prepared or even planning for retirement, according to a new survey released by the Federal Reserve Thursday.
“When it comes to planning and saving for retirement, the survey results tell a somewhat cautionary tale,” the survey concluded.
Despite the shift from pension plans to 401k plans, which has placed responsibility on the individual to plan for his or her their retirement, only about a quarter of those surveyed appear to be actively doing so.
Here are some stark facts:

• Just under a third of non-retired U.S. households reported having no retirement savings or pension, including just under 20% of households aged 55 to 64.
• A quarter of the respondents said they had done no retirement planning at all.
• Of those who have given some thought to retirement planning and plan to retire at some point, 25% didn’t know how they will pay their expenses in retirement.

Even the concept of retirement seems to be losing its luster. Among those ages 55 to 64 who had not yet retired, more respondents said they expect to keep working “as long as possible” than households who said they plan to follow the traditional retirement model of working full time until a set date and then stopping working altogether.
– Greg Robb Marketwatch (Wallstreetjournal)