People feel less financially secure than last year, Bankrate says

Americans feel slightly less financially secure than they did a year ago, with retirees among the groups feeling the most insecure, according to an index compiled by research firm Bankrate.com.

But the January results marked the second straight month Bankrate's financial security index increased.

Some results:

• 41 percent felt less secure in their savings than last year, with 14 percent feeling more secure.
• 20 percent felt their job security had increased, with 17 percent thinking it had decreased.
• 28 percent felt their overall financial security had decreased, 23 percent said it had increased.

"From last year to this year, nothing has really changed," said Robert Fragasso, CEO ofFragasso Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh, in a statement reported by Bankrate. "There has not been a tremendous amount of improvement in the economy; the economy has gone sideways. People are still apprehensive about the future and concerned with jobs. And they are definitely concerned with political inaction. The good news is that their feelings didn't get worse."

Bankrate's index is compiled from results of a survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, which asks a sample of 1,000 adults five questions each month plus a "wild card" question that changes seasonally. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.