Angelenos least ready for retirement

On your marks, L.A. stereotypers: A survey of 30 metro areas places Los Angeles dead last when it comes to retirement readiness. Ameriprise Financial found that more than 40 percent of respondents say they haven't put away any money at all, and one-third say they hadn't really thought about retirement. By contrast, Minneapolis/ St. Paul is tops on the survey, with 83 percent saying they have been saving. Before jumping to too many easy conclusions, it's worth noting that Ameriprise didn't release an actual study, just a press release, and that the findings by Harris Interactive were not totally random, which can make quite a difference in the conclusions. Here the Forbes story. All that said, it's still a good bet that L.A. would land at least near the bottom of a retirement ranking, no matter who did the survey. Lots of possible reasons: High cost of living, a big population of low-income residents who have enough trouble meeting ends meet, and large numbers of youngins' who don't think about growing old. One more thing: It's not only L.A. A study by Wells Fargo finds that the average American has saved only $20,000 for retirement. From Reuters:

"Too many Americans have their heads in the sand in the face of obvious savings deficits," said Laurie Nordquist, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement Trust. "Barring a miracle, a winning lottery ticket or a big inheritance, they're going to be forced to dramatically cut back their lifestyles after retirement." Even those fast approaching retirement age are not well-funded. Respondents aged 50 to 59 have saved an average of only $29,000 for retirement. Consequently, more than a third of respondents believe they will have to work during retirement in order to afford the things they want or just to make ends meet.