Although many Americans are behind the curve when it comes to saving for retirement, that doesn't mean they're prioritizing retirement products—nor are they budgeting for them.
That's according to Lincoln Financial Group's 2015 American Consumer Study, which found that those consumers are pretty well divided into two camps on their attitudes about money:
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the "in control and confident" camp, consisting of 36 percent of respondents, described their relationship with money in such terms as "I love it" or "I control it"
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the "not in control; money is a necessity" camp
Forty percent of respondents in the study characterized their relationship with money in such statements as "I'm struggling with it" to "It's a means to an end" and even "I hate it."
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Millennials are more likely to characterize themselves as members of the "in control" group, and to "love" money, while both GenXers and baby boomers are more likely to fall into the second camp, with GenXers referring to money as "easy come, easy go."
While, regardless of generation, respondents agreed that "financial stability" means meeting present needs and saving for the future, the survey also found that no matter their age, consumers aren't prioritizing the importance of insurance and retirement products because they don't connect them to an immediate need.
This is even though a third of them responded that "raising future standard of living" is also an important element in feeling financially secure.
"Less than half of the consumers we surveyed feel it's important to make room in their budgets today for insurance and retirement products," Kristen Phillips, senior vice president of insurance and retirement solutions marketing and strategy at Lincoln, said in a statement.
Phillips added, "Given one in three Americans say they allocate less than they should to meet their personal savings and retirement needs, there isn't much room for error without the security those products can provide."
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