Americans saving for retirement aren’t letting the current tough economy deter them from saving more. That’s the conclusion of new survey research released today by Fidelity Investments. The survey shows that, among current Individual Retirement Account owners, 60 percent have contributed to their IRAs for 2007 or plan to do so. And 32 percent of that group increased the amount invested for the year.

Overall participation in IRA plans still hovers around 40 percent of U.S. households, according to John Ragnoni, senior vice president of retirement products at Fidelity. “We were encouraged by these results,” Ragnoni told me. “It shows IRA owners are still engaged with the retirement savings process and trying to make the contributions that get them on the right path. But we certainly still need overall to get overall IRA ownership up.”

Unfortunately, the lowest rates of participation are among younger Americans who would benefit most from getting an early start on retirement portfolios. Just 32 percent of Americans in their thirties said they are participating in an IRA plan, compared with 57 percent of people in their sixties.

Fidelity surveyed 500 current IRA owners and another 500 people who haven’t opened accounts.

Details on the survey are here.

Tags | 401(k), IRA, portfolio, retirement