A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. shows that that 19 percent of Americans have tapped into retirement funds over the past 12 months in order to pay for emergency expenses.

Among full-time workers, the number decreased slightly to 17 percent. However, for residents of Western states, the likelihood increased to 22 percent. And for the unemployed and those earning less than $50,000 a year, the chances increased to one in four. Additionally, seven percent of the people surveyed admitted to having no retirement savings at all.

Other findings include:

One in three Americans (33 percent) says their overall financial situation is worse than 12 months ago.
Feelings of financial security among Americans, as measured by Bankrate's Financial Security Index, sank to a new low of 93.5, down from 97.0 in March and below the previous low of 94.6 in December.
Feelings of job security are falling, too; when asked how they felt about their job security compared to 12 months ago, only 17 percent felt more secure, 58 percent felt about the same, and a quarter (25 percent) feel less secure. Despite overall job growth, these numbers represent a decrease in feelings of job security from March, when 19 percent of people felt more secure in their job, and 21 percent reported feeling less secure. Additionally, men are much more likely to feel more secure in their jobs than women, 24 percent to 9 percent.
The percentage of Americans who are comfortable with their debt has fallen 3 months in a row (Jan: 27 percent, Feb: 26 percent, Mar: 24 percent, April: 18 percent).

"Raiding the retirement account prematurely depletes the nest egg, subjects the individual to taxes and penalties, and deals a permanent setback to retirement security because you can never go back and make up for those early withdrawals," said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com in a press release.

The study was based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,004 adults, ages 18 and older. The interviews were conducted from April 7 to April 10, 2011, by Princeton Survey Research Associates International.

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1 in 5 Americans has tapped into retirement in last year

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