young man in business suit with hands up in helpless and confused gesture

The COVID-19 pandemic has derailed retirement savings across generations and affected the way Americans will save in the future, according to a survey from TD Ameritrade.

Notably, the survey said that members of Generation X felt they were hardest hit financially by the pandemic, with nrearly 40 percent of that group considering delaying retirement.

According to the survey, 60 percent of Americans surveyed said they regularly contributed to their retirement plans prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, but 70 percent said the pandemic offset their savings practices

TD Ameritrade said Americans considered a variety of emergency measures to compensate for that financial impact. "While many delay retirement and withdraw from their emergency and retirement accounts, some consider increasing their retirement contributions," the survey said.

Millennials in particular considered upping retirement savings."While more than half of millennials have/considered withdrawing from their emergency fund/savings, many want to weather the crisis by opening a new investing account and increasing their retirement contributions," the survey said.

And like Gen X, baby boomers also considered altering the timing of their retirement, with 41 percent of them claiming they would increase retirement savings going forward.

"While 37% of boomers have delayed or considered delaying their retirement, nearly a quarter (23%) have or considered retiring early as a result of the pandemic," according to the survey. The economic impact of the pandemic also left just over half of those surveyed open to taking on a new job during retirement to supplement their income.

Additionally the survey found that most Americans were unaware of legislation passed to offset the financial pain of the pandemic.

Some misconceptions include believing that the economic stimulus checks need to be paid back, as well as not knowing that the date to file federal taxes by without requesting an extension had been pushed back to July 15.

Other misconceptions included not knowing about the ability to take out funds from a 401(k) without penalty if impacted by Covid-19; the ability to skip a Required Minimum Distribution from an IRA in 2020; and being able to take out funds from an IRA without penalty if impacted by Covid-19, among other benefits.

The survey was conducted online nationally by The Harris Poll on behalf of TD Ameritrade from April 24 through May 4, 2020, among 1,008 American adults aged 24 and older with at least $10,000 in investments.

The survey defined millennials as ages 24-38; Gen X as ages 39-54; and boomers as ages 55-73. The survey also included 199 retirees and 804 pre-retirees.

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