Parents Juggle Retirement and College Savings Strategies

ST. LOUIS, MO, Aug 27 (MARKET WIRE) --
As more Americans delay starting a family until later in life, more are
finding themselves in a troubling financial dilemma -- how to pay for a
comfortable retirement and put their kids through college at the same
time.

A new study by financial services firm Edward Jones found that nearly a
third of parents (29%) have it covered and are saving equally for
retirement and their child's college education. Approximately another
third (31%) are favoring one over the other and 26% aren't saving for
either. The survey, which reports on parents' savings strategies, showed
that younger parents ages 35 to 44 are more likely to save equally for
retirement and college education (37%), than older parents ages 55 to 64
(23%).

The study of 1,497 parents, which was conducted by Opinion Research
Corporation on behalf of Edward Jones, revealed men are slightly more
likely than women to save equally for both retirement and college (31% and
27% respectively), while a higher percentage of women (29%) revealed they
are not saving at all for retirement or their child's education, compared
with 23% of men. More respondents are choosing to only save for retirement
(22%) rather than just their child's college education (9%). The survey
also showed 37% of parents ages 18-34 are not saving for retirement or
college at all.

"It's encouraging that close to a third of those surveyed recognize the
need to save for both because, for more and more people, retirement and
paying for college are simultaneous events," said Greg Dosmann, a
principal with Edward Jones. "Unfortunately, it appears far too many
people haven't yet adopted strategies to meet both goals. And it's
complicated by the happy fact that people are living longer and the
sobering fact that the cost of college is increasing far faster than the
rate of inflation."

Geographically, the South (32%) had the highest percentage of respondents
who said they're saving equally for retirement and college, compared with
only 22% of respondents in the West. Americans who live in metro areas are
more likely to save for retirement over college, while those in non-metro
areas are choosing college savings over retirement (22% and 12%
respectively).

Differences in household income also had an impact on responses. Higher
earners are primarily saving for retirement (33%) over saving for their
child's college education (10%). Not surprisingly, higher earners are more
likely to save equally for both retirement and college than lower earners.
Nearly half (44%) of respondents who make less than $35K/year are not
saving at all.

Based on educational history, college graduates are more likely to save
equally for both retirement and their child's college education than high
school graduates (40% and 24% respectively). Forty percent of high school
graduate parents are not saving at all, compared with only 12% of college
graduate parents.

About Edward Jones

Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors in the
United States and, through its affiliates, in Canada and the United
Kingdom. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment
options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater
to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work.
The firm's 12,000-plus financial advisors work directly with more than 8
million clients to understand their personal goals -- from college
savings to retirement -- and create long-term investment solutions that
emphasize a well-balanced portfolio and a buy-and-hold strategy. Edward
Jones embraces the importance of building long-term, face-to-face
relationships with clients, helping them to understand and make sense of
the investment options available today.

Edward Jones, which ranked No. 2 on FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies
to Work For 2009," is headquartered in St. Louis. The Edward Jones Web
site is located at www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is
www.careers.edwardjones.com.

Edward Jones - Member SIPC

* Survey was based on 1,497 telephone interviews of US adults and was
conducted between the dates of July 23 - 27 and July 30 - August 3. The
margin of error was +/-3%.

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Contact:
John Boul
Manager, Global Media Relations
Edward Jones
314.515.3265
314.276.4419
Email Contact

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