FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       CONTACT:  Jennifer Devlin, 703 -876-1714
December 12, 2006                                                     jennifer.devlin@cox.net

CAPITAL MARKETS COMMISSION UNVEILS NEW DATA REVEALING U.S. ADULT AMBIVALENCE TOWARDS RETIREMENT SAVINGS
Almost half of working adults don't feel confident they have enough saved

WASHINGTON, DC – The Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century released new survey data today illustrating the current state of retirement savings for working U.S. adults. The data reveals a workforce that plans on retiring early, if not on time, yet often feels uncertain or scared when considering saving for retirement, and unsure exactly how much a modern retirement will cost. 

"The Commission's data highlights the distressing fact that many working Americans are unprepared for retirement, concerned and scared about their ability to retire, but still expecting to retire by the age of 65," said Peter Gilbert, a Commission member and Chief Investment Officer of the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System. "Our data underscores the fact that the Commissions' work to develop recommendations to assist Americans with their retirement planning is timely and relevant to the entire workforce."

Some of the key findings include:

* Over one quarter (28%) of those in the workforce have less than $10,000 saved for retirement; over one half (57%) have less than $100,000 saved for retirement

* Roughly a third (29%) of working adults thought that they would need to postpone their retirement due to insufficient savings

* More than half (52%) of working women, and over a third of men (39%), are not comfortable about making their own retirement savings decisions.

* Fewer than half (42%) of working adults know how much money they will need to live comfortably during retirement

* Almost half (46%) of working adults feel they do not/will not have enough money to maintain their standard of living in retirement

* About half (49%) of working adults are uncertain when thinking about saving for retirement; over a third (36%) found that it is difficult to plan; and approximately a quarter (23%) reported being "scared" when thinking about saving for retirement

"The financial future of workers across the U.S. is directly affected by the vitality and stability of our capital markets," said Commission Co-Chair A.B. Culvahouse, Chair of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. "The best way to fuel our economy and ensure a comfortable retirement for our hard-working citizens is to strengthen our markets now and in the future."

About the Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century

The Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century is an independent, bipartisan panel formed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to consider the impact of recent regulatory changes on the capital markets and the appropriate overall legal and regulatory framework to ensure efficient capital flows throughout our economy.  The commission is made up of four working groups:  Issuers & Auditors, Financial Services Industry, Global Marketplace, and Accumulated Savings & Investor Protection.  In addition to Co-Chairs William Daley, Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase, and A.B. Culvahouse, Chair of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, members include:

John Bachmann, Senior Partner, Edward Jones
John Bohn, Chairman, GlobalNet Venture Partners
Jim Copeland, former CEO, Deloitte & Touche
Christine Edwards, Partner, Winston & Strawn
Peter Gilbert, Chief Investment Officer, Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System
Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Mutual Funds
Jim Johnson, Vice Chairman, Perseus LLC
Mickey Kantor, Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
Eric Mindich, Founder, Eton Park Capital Management
Rick Murray, Managing Director & Chief Claims Strategist, Swiss Re
Don Nickles, Chairman and CEO, The Nickles Group
Bob Pozen, Chairman, MFS Investment Management
Richard Walker, Global General Counsel of Corporate and Investment Banking, Deutsche Bank

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Media Notes:  To receive more information about upcoming events or to interview a member of the Commission, please contact Jennifer Devlin at 703-876-1714 or Jennifer.devlin@cox.net.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive® on behalf of U.S. Chamber of Commerce between November 7 and 9, 2006 among 1,577 adults (aged 18 and over) who are employed and not retired. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 1,577, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- four percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.