For the past 11 years, Ariel Investments, LLC, and Charles Schwab have teamed up to conduct the annual Black Investor Survey. The goal of this survey is twofold: To show the differences in how black and white Americans approach investing, and to raise awareness in the African-American community regarding the importance of investing.

While this year's study revealed some interesting differences, what I noticed most was a glaring similarity: No one is saving enough for retirement. But the survey also hinted at a few ways to improve the situation. First, people who plan early are the ones who get ahead. And employers have a real opportunity to encourage their workers — all their workers — by providing the tools and resources that will help them make informed decisions about retirement planning.

PARTICIPATION IS HIGH ... BUT SAVINGS ARE LOW

Participation rates in employer-sponsored, defined-contribution plans (401(k) and 403(b) plans) are actually quite high. The survey found that about 90 percent of those who have access to a defined-contribution plan defer part of their pay into it each month; that figure holds true for both groups. However, African-Americans contribute considerably less: An average of $169 per month versus $249 per month for white workers. That's a difference of nearly 50 percent, which adds up. The median total household savings for African-American 401(k) investors is $53,000. For white investors, the median total household savings is $114,000. All those surveyed had household incomes of at least $50,000.

Clearly, this gap is a problem, and I'll talk about some of the ways to close it. But first I want to highlight the larger issue with these statistics: No one is building the kind of wealth they need for a comfortable retirement.

RETIREMENT IS THE PRIORITY

While it's obviously beneficial that the majority of workers are contributing to their 401(k) accounts, it should be equally obvious that $53,000 (or $114,000, for that matter) is nowhere near enough for retirement, assuming that is the respondent's primary financial asset. The median age for African-American respondents was 47 years old, while it was 51 years old for white surveyors.

For some perspective: According to financial experts, if you want to draw $50,000 a year for 30 years from your retirement account, you will need to amass approximately $1.25 million by the time you retire.

The survey also discovered that many people underestimate the need for retirement income. In fact, 41 percent of African-American investors believed they would require just half of their current household income in order to have a comfortable retirement; 30 percent of white investors thought the same. This is potentially dangerous thinking. While it's certainly possible to live more cheaply after you retire, most people won't want to make wholesale cuts in their standard of living. Plus, many retirees will face higher health care costs when they leave the work force. My advice is to assume you'll need roughly the same income in retirement as you have now.

Both African-American and white investors aren't saving aggressively enough for retirement, an idea reinforced by another finding of the study. Only 41 percent of the African-American respondents believed that retirement was their most important goal for saving and investing; merely 55 percent of white investors answered that a retirement investment was their No. 1 priority.

It's clear that older investors are starting to realize that an early retirement is less of an option. Only 24 percent of African-Americans and 9 percent of whites over the age of 50 plan to retire by age 60 — which could mean they want to keep working, but I suspect it signifies that they need to continue working. For some, this realization comes as a wake-up call: Of those under 50, 45 percent of blacks and 26 percent of whites plan to retire by 60. Clearly, some people have to adjust their expectations overtime, but that kind of realistic thinking is good. With longer life spans today and the rising cost of health care, retirement can be much more expensive than most people understand.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW

Despite relatively equal participation rates in 401(k) plans, there's been a consistent gap over the last 11 years between blacks and whites when it comes to stock investing. The percentage of whites who own stock or stock mutual funds has held steady at about 80 percent (this year, the figure was 82 percent), while that number for African-Americans is generally 10 percent to 20 percent lower (this year, only 62 percent had equity exposure). African-Americans traditionally preferred to invest in real estate, though not surprisingly — due to problems in the real estate market in recent months — that preference has declined.

From this 11th Ariel Black Investor Survey, I took away a larger, more systemic issue that transcends race: Too many people aren't taking the retirement challenge seriously enough. Here are some solutions:

— Start early: As a society, we need to instill in every working American the incredible value of investing early — as soon as a person enters the work force, whenever possible. As Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, put it, retirement saving "is a lifelong task, not something you start in middle age. The earlier people understand this, the better their chances of achieving their dreams."

— Education is the key: Employers have a great opportunity to get their employees on the right track, particularly African-American workers, by offering educational resources. About two-thirds of the surveyed African-Americans said they would increase 401(k) contributions if their companies provided access to financial advisers, seminars about retirement and investing, or general education about the features of the plan.

The goal must be not only to motivate people to participate (an employer match can do that quite nicely), but to also assist workers in making informed decisions about their investments. Clearly, all employees would benefit from this kind of educational initiative as long as they participate and act on what they learn.

My concern is that the current market environment will dissuade even more people from investing for their future. Currently, there's no question that putting money into the financial markets is a challenge; however, there's also no escaping that stocks have historically proven themselves to be the best engines for long-term growth. Your financial future remains, to a large extent, your responsibility. And the way to meet that responsibility is to save and invest.

Carrie Schwab Pomerantz is Chief Strategist, Consumer Education, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Member SIPC. You can e-mail Carrie at askcarrie@schwab.com. To find out more about Carrie Schwab Pomerantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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