“The drubbing in the stock market in the past year, as well as growing concerns about the future cost of medical and long-term care, are taking their toll on workers and their preparations for retirement,” writes Glenn Ruffenach in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“A survey to be released Thursday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and others finds that fewer Americans are saving for retirement, fewer are confident that they will have sufficient funds to live comfortably in retirement, and fewer have tried to calculate how much money they need to save for later life.”

“The findings are a striking change from the institute’s earlier surveys, when a steadily increasing number of Americans appeared to be optimistic about their ability to save for and enjoy retirement.”

” ‘This is the first reversal [in behavior and attitudes] in the past six years,’ said Dallas Salisbury, president and chief executive of the institute, a research organization based in Washington. ‘With the downturn in the economy, the markets and consumer confidence, and the fact that people are better educated about the cost of prescription drugs and long-term care, you’re going to see this kind of drop-off.’ “

“The smallest change came in the number of people who said they are saving money for retirement: 71% this year, compared with 75% in 2000. The decrease, Mr. Salisbury noted, likely reflects a decision by individuals to build up their cash reserves — in light of corporate layoffs — rather than contribute to long-term savings.”

“More pronounced was the change in people’s attitudes about the future. When asked in January and February of this year about their confidence in having enough money to live comfortably in retirement, 63% of those surveyed said they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ confident, down from 72% a year ago. At the same time, the percentage of workers who said they were ‘not at all confident’ about having enough money in later life jumped to 17%, from 10%.”