Many consumers may be overly optimistic about how prepared they are for retirement

More than one-quarter of consumers may be overly optimistic about how well they are planning and saving for retirement, according to a Wachovia Retirement Fitness study.The comprehensive survey of 2,100 consumers nationwide revealed that 26% of consumers feel confident about retirement planning and consider themselves experienced investors, yet they may need to do more to prepare. The survey showed that many of these individuals, when compared to those who are better prepared, typically do not have a retirement savings strategy and are saving less in 401(k) plans and IRAs. Meanwhile, nearly half of consumers are emotionally concerned over planning and saving for retirement. This includes 36% who may not be doing enough to prepare, and 11% who appear to be in better shape but are still worried. The top three emotions these consumers describe are uncertainty about how to best prepare for retirement, worry about having enough savings at retirement and fear of making a mistake with their retirement savings. The majority of these consumers also feel they will need to work during retirement. The Retirement Fitness study examines consumers’ emotions along with their actions, or what they are doing to prepare for retirement. Four retirement fitness categories were developed