Anna Bernasek of Newsweek thinks a retirement crisis is coming. She’s got some scary numbers to prove it. According to the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School, 30 million Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 (that’s us, WiseTribers) have no retirement savings at all. None. Zip.
Thirty million accounts for about one half of the American population currently nearing retirement. For those that are nearing retirement but have accumulated some savings, the news is still not good: A significant portion of the savers have not saved nearly enough.
From newsweek.com:
“Fifteen million or so Americans — and these are the most prepared for retirement in their age group of 50- to 64-year-olds — have average retirement savings of $140,654. Typically, financial planners advise 10 times your income at retirement to maintain your living standard. That would imply an annual income ahead of retirement of around $14,000, but in fact, the annual income of Americans approaching retirement in this category is more than $50,000. That suggests many with retirement savings will still experience a sharp drop in living standards once they stop working.”
Bernasek’s numbers suggest 75% of Americans nearing retirement age are woefully unprepared for retirement. Got any ideas of how to close that gap? Too many lost too much in the recent recession and are unlikely to see that wealth regained in the short amount of time they may have left to continue working full time. Clearly, the Great Recession of 2008 and its aftermath has had a significant effect on WiseTribers.
Read our blog for more on how WiseTribers are planning for retirement. Join us to contribute your ideas!
Julian Rogers is a contributor to WiseTribe, Oregon Sports News, OregonLive (the Oregonian), Comcast Sports Net, ProFootballNetworks.com, Androsform.com, and other websites. He is a native Washingtonian who spent six years in Alaska. He still does not understand the appeal of hockey or dog sled racing. He has made an uneasy peace with social media and can be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and WordPress. He has two beautiful children and one tolerant wife, who is also beautiful.
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