80% of Americans will experience poverty

Four out of five American adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty, or rely on welfare for at least parts of their lives, according to a new survey by the Associated Press.

Local economists and financial advisers agree with the likelihood of the statistic.

The slow economic recovery has many people calling the American dream dead, but Idaho Falls financial adviser, Dave Schofield said saving will help live a more comfortable life.

“Young people say, ‘oh well, I’ve got 40 years to work, why do I have to worry about retirement for now?’
‘ said Schofield.

He said the hardest part of his job is getting young people to take saving seriously.

Schofield says people should be saving 10 percent of their income, but the national average shows people are only putting away 3.2 percent of their paychecks.

“So when we start working we want immediately the nicer cars, the nicer house, all of these nice things, and when we do that we’re sacrificing our retirement for an immediate benefit,” said Schofield.

Feeling entitled in your 20s could easily put people as one of the 80% of Americans who will experience poverty between the ages of 25 to 65.

“Focus on now, so we can live like we want to in the future,” said Schofield.

Schofield says he meets with many seniors who now have to work janitorial jobs to just get by because they didn’t start saving early.