Other key findings:

Financial Information

• Nonwhites were more likely than whites to get their investment information and guidance from the Internet and media: 54 percent of African-Americans, 53 percent of Asians and 50 percent of Hispanics vs. 45 percent of white respondents.
• Whites were more likely to use a financial professional.
• While 28 percent of overall respondents were currently working with a financial professional, only 75 percent of this group said their advisor looked at their complete financial picture.
• Face-to-face communication with a financial professional ranked highest in terms of value provided in getting information about their retirement plan and other employee benefits.

Planning Goals

• Fifty-seven percent of Hispanic respondents said they had never calculated how much money they would need to continue their current lifestyle upon retirement.
• Seventy percent of Hispanics did not have a formal investment plan to reach those goals.
• Twenty-nine percent of respondents overall had a formal investment plan, with African-Americans most likely to have one (32 percent) and whites least likely (28 percent).

Barriers to Saving

Seventy-three percent of respondents admitted to having barriers to saving. African-Americans said debt was their biggest barrier. Needing to know more about their savings options was a greater barrier to savings for Hispanics than for any other group.

Emergency Savings

Forty-one percent of respondents overall had virtually no emergency savings (one month or less). This increased to 47 percent for Hispanics and 50 percent for African-Americans, while only 25 percent of Asians had one month or less saved for emergencies.

Purchasing Priorities

Asians appeared to be most prepared for retirement, but had a tendency to place a higher priority on lifestyle choices, such as purchasing a nice house or car, than planning for retirement.

"There are certainly more similarities than differences among the ethnic groups when it comes to retirement planning, but distinctions do exist and understanding them can be critical to future retirement success," Fabian Gonzalez, vice president of multicultural sales at ING U.S., said in a statement.

"For example, many times in the Hispanic community, parents will sacrifice their own financial future in order for their children to advance. By researching and learning about the rationale behind decisions like this, we can better understand our customers and help them achieve their financial goals," he said.

Additional findings:

• Twenty-three percent of African-American respondents had life insurance coverage equal to four to five times their salary, higher than the total population (18 percent). This corresponds with African-American respondents saying they were the most likely to leave life insurance proceeds to their heirs (70 percent vs. 53 percent of the total sample).
• Sixty-three percent of African-Americans cited reducing debt as their most important short-term financial goal.
• Hispanics are the most likely (57 percent) to want more education about investments and retirement options from their employer, compared with all respondent groups (47 percent).
• Asians are the least likely to have a last will and testament (26 percent), compared with 31 percent for Hispanics and 37 percent for white      respondents.