The results of Putnam Investment's latest study should come asno surprise.

The company, in a survey of nearly 3,300 working Americans,found that long-term savings, access to a workplace retirementprogram, and working with a financial advisor are the best ways toachieve success in retirement. These results are true regardless ofincome level.

The Putnam Lifetime Income Score research looks at behavioraltendencies, mortality factors and current retirement andnon-retirement assets, such as investment securities, annuities andcash value life insurance, to estimate the level of income thatU.S. households are currently on track to replace in retirement.The study found that American households are on track to replace 64percent of their current income in retirement. And while thatnumber is promising, it's clearly just a start.

Putnam also looked at the role Social Security will play for Americans about to retire.According to the study, there is a huge reliance on SocialSecurity; the 64 percent replacement score dives to a mere 30percent when Social Security is not factored in. And for low-incomehouseholds and the boomer generation, the numbers are even worse.Those aged 50 to 65 have a 60 percent replacement score, whichdrops to 28 percent without Social Security. For households withless than $50,000 in income, removing Social Security drops thescore to barely 17 percent.

Other key findings of the study include:

• Individuals who appeared to be on thebest track to replace current income (those on track to replace 100percent or more of their pre-retirement income) and individuals whoseem to be the worst positioned (those on pace to replace less than45 percent), have exactly the same mean household income —$93,000 annually. The differentiator? Savings behavior.

• The best-prepared Americans are participants in 401(k) or otherdefined-contribution plans who are contributing 10 percent or moreof their income to their plan; their scores are 124 percent. Thosewho are currently contributing 4 percent to 10 percent of theirincome to their retirement plan still score 84 percent replacement.But those who do not defer any of their income scored only 58percent. The least-prepared Americans are households that are noteligible for an employer-based retirement plan, currently nearlyhalf of the population, which have an average Lifetime Income Scoreof 46 percent. Those who are not eligible for employer-based plan,are even further unprepared for retirement if Social Security isexcluded, as their overall score plummets from 46 percent to 8percent.

• One third of Americans say they are considering delaying retirement beyond their original targetage, including majorities of those currently age 55 to 59 and age60 to 65; half of America’s workers say they expect to work atleast part time in retirement; four in 10 say they will have toreduce their standard of living in retirement; and, one in fourfears running out of money entirely in retirement.

• Those with a paid financial advisor had a Lifetime Income Scoreof 82 percent, while those without an advisor scored 61 percent.Those with an advisor scored higher than those without an advisorat every level of household income. Furthermore, those with a paidadvisor still managed to score 51 percent without Social Security,while those without an advisor scored just 23 percent withoutSocial Security.

• The study also found a closecorrelation with retirement preparedness and retirement confidence. Those withLifetime Incomes Scores of 100 or more are far more confident thatthey know how much money they will need for retirement and thatthey are financially ready for retirement than those with scores of45 percent replacement or below. They are also more likely toexpect that they will live as well or better in retirement thanthey did while working, that they will have enough to pay forhealthcare and that they will be able to leave a legacy to theirheirs than those with lower Lifetime Income Scores.

• Men are much more prepared for retirement than women. Menaveraged a Lifetime Income Score of 73 percent, while women scored60 percent. Women are also far more reliant on Social Security –they scored 21 percent once Social Security was removed from theequation – compared with men, who scored 41 percent.