Over 40% of Americans are heading toward retirement ‘blind’ — with no plan

Americans may be walking into retirement blindfolded.

A total of 42% of Americans have never calculated how much money they'll need in retirement, according to a new report from Evergreen.ai, a financial-planning platform. Even those closer to retirement are dodging the task: One-third of those who expected to retire within the next 15 years have avoided running their retirement numbers, per the report.

"People are busy, and people don't want bad news. They don't want to know if they have a shortfall, they don't want to hear they shouldn't buy that new car or whatnot. It's human nature," said Joseph Spada, a private wealth adviser with Summit Financial in Parsippany, N.J.

Yet at a time when 67% of Americans fear running out of money more than death, according to the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, it's important to know your retirement number as early as possible. Many Americans are ill-prepared for retirement, with the median amount that workers have saved for retirement at just $955 , according to the National Institute of Retirement Security. That's a small fraction of the $1.2 million that Americans think they'll need to retire comfortably, according to Schroders, an asset-management firm.

"It's the most common fear there is: running out of money. But unless you have a plan, there's a risk you won't have enough," said Christopher Walsh, a senior financial adviser and regional marketing director at Capital Choice Arizona in Phoenix. "Coming up with a plan is mitigating the fear of not knowing. The longer you go without a plan, the bigger the risk is of running out of money or not having enough.

"The more time you give yourself, the more flexibility you have to fix things," Walsh added. "Sitting on the sidelines gives you fewer choices, and often suboptimal choices."

Without knowledge of your retirement number, you could be forced to work longer than you want to, and retiring may be a luxury you can't afford. But needing to work until you die may be risky. Not everyone can choose when they retire, as some are forced to do so sooner than they anticipated because of bad health, caregiving responsibilities or job cuts.