Savings plans often missing

     Associated Press
      WASHINGTON -- Most Americans try to squirrel away for retirement. But what about saving for a new car, an ailing parent or the kids' college education?
      Without a detailed savings plan, many of those long-range goals can go unfulfilled, according to a study recently released by the Consumer Federation of America and NationsBank.
      "We Americans are among the world's worst savers, and we've got to change," said Joseph Perkins, president-elect of the American Association of Retired Persons. "We have to change millions of Americans into savers and investors."
      The survey of 1,770 American households found that 84 percent have savings. The number initially pleased researchers, said Diane Colasanto, president of Princeton Survey Research Associates, which conducted the study.
      When they looked deeper, however, the savings landscape was far more bleak.
      "Even after people had started to save for a goal, many savers' habits were haphazard," Colasanto said. They fail to earmark accounts, invest poorly or just save too little, she said.
      The study found that 64 percent of working households have started retirement funds, about 56 percent are putting money away for children's education and 51 percent have funds for major purchases.
      Then the numbers dive: Only 34 percent are saving for new homes, and just 17 percent have money put aside to care for elderly parents.
      With rigorous financial plans in place, the numbers improve. Regardless of how much people earned, the study found those with financial plans saved roughly twice as much as those without. They also distributed their savings better.