This post comes from Richard Barrington at partner site MoneyRates.com.

When it comes to retirement savings, many Americans seem to be "winging it" -- or heading for retirement without a realistic plan of how to fund it.

Or so suggests a recent survey (.pdf file) by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. The survey indicates that "retirement planning" is a very loose concept among Americans. In many cases, the approach could be better described as wishful thinking.

The following are some points of concern raised by the study:

Savings rates remain very low.

The median contribution level for workers in 401kor similar plans is 7%. This is up from 6% in 2011, but still too low a savings rate to fund a comfortable retirement. Think about it: Retirement is likely to last roughly half as many years as a career. How can you expect to replace most or all of your income if you are settingaside only 7% of that income each year? With diminished expectations for the stock market, and bond yields and savings account interest rates approaching zero, most people are not going to be able to grow their way to adequate funding. Saving more is the only way to make it work. (Post continues below.)

Go here to see the original:
'Winging' retirement plans