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The problem with that though is public policy can be changed to accommodate things like folks not saving for retirement. Hence, you get proposals about taxes, means testing and other forms of asset and/or income redistribution.
And that can make it personal.
It may be personal, but it is completely beyond your control. There is no point fretting about things you cannot change.
The article is another alarmist article. When you look at the actual survey (which is linked in the article), the retirement picture is not nearly as gloomy as the article portrays it to be. The actual survey asked two separate questions pertaining to retirement and savings, which the article seemed to lump into a single one to support its alarmist conclusion:
was the individual or couple saving for retirement?
how much does the individual or couple in savings and investments excluding the value of the primary residence and any defined benefit (pension) plan value?
IMO, excluding the value of the primary residence and any pension benefits makes many respondents' situations appear much more dire than they may actually be. Secure, defined benefit pensions can easily have equivalent values of $1 million or more, and many people, especially those living in high COL areas, intend to use their equity in their paid off homes for some of their retirement funds.
I will also add that while the survey looked at income level, education, and health, it did not look at respondents' ages. Certainly younger workers in their 20s and 30s are going to be thinking less about retirement, especially if they don't have some kind of employer sponsored retirement plan, than older workers.
I agree its all workers which doesn't surprise me at all. Even boomers are only 26% of population. With the economic down turn you expect such to effect savings.
What is hard to figure is "average 401 balance" could mean different things. To a couple where both parties have been working they would have, effectively, double the average when the accounts are combined. Obviously with only one working spouse that balance needs to carry 2 people.
Bada Bing and those with no account aren't included are they?
Sorry about that. The link in the article is not to the fact sheet and charts of the ages of the workers in the study. That one is here and includes comparisons between 1995, 2005 and 2015 by age group:
"Study after study shows that Americans are not saving for retirement like they should, and a new survey finds that nearly one third of people who have some sort of savings plan have amassed less than $1,000 for retirement. The survey titled “Preparing for Retirement in America,” by Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald and Associates, finds that only 65 percent of workers have any savings for retirement, a number that fell below the 75 percent figure from 2009. But 28 percent of workers report that they have saved less than $1,000 for retirement, and almost 6 in 10 Americans say that their financial planning needs improvement. Additionally, 34 percent say they have made no effort at all to saving anything or make a retirement plan."
There is a link in the article to the actual study.
What do you predict the 62% (28% that saved less than $1,000 and 34% who say they have made no effort at all to save for retirement) will say when they reach retirement age?
Obviously, I can't speak for anyone else, but DH and I have no intention of retiring. OTOH, if the world goes to hell before we bite the proverbial dust, we'll gather our belongings, head up to the cabin, and hunt, fish, and gather. No big deal. Fortunately, we know how to survive in the wilderness - and enjoy it. Money is highly overrated - always was.
Frugal for sure!!! I am looking at my SS statement and I've been paying in since 1977 and at my estimated future earnings, retiring at 62 will give me $1238/mo. And at 67 it is $1787/mo. Thats over 10 years away and this years fixed expenses are over $2000/mo with no mortgage or car loan.
And even more sickening, if I get disabled today It's $2228/mo
I have no mortgage or car loan, however, if my...fixed expenses over $2,000 a month........I would b e high tailing it to a place with a lower cost of living.
When I re-located, property taxes were one of the reasons.
Any state/city where my taxes would be over $1,000 per year got scratched from my list.
Currently, $620 covers my annual property tax on my house, property tax on two vehicles, and license/registration on those two./
Perhaps I am belaboring the obvious, but the tacit implication of some of the quotes from the article is that if people have made no retirement plan and have no savings whatsoever, that they will have nothing in retirement and will be totally destitute. That thinking ignores Social Security. Someone with 35 years of earnings at more than minimal levels who is able to wait until full retirement age to draw SS retirement benefits will be able to live in reasonable, albeit rather frugal, comfort, even if there are no other savings.
Now I am not arguing that such total reliance on Social Security is a good idea, nor would I be personally satisfied with such a non-plan and its concomitant life style.
So while it is a bit scary and also puzzling that so many people have no plan and/or no savings at all, the picture is not totally bleak either. Excellent rationale for the mandatory nature of SS, which is a real life saver on a societal level.
The problem is that the people writing these articles, assume an upper middle class lifestyle as a baseline for human existence. If you notice anytime they delve into individual cases of retirement gone awry, it's always some professional or management type living in the NYC or D.C. 'burbs. They never interview a janitor in middle America, putting down his broom, filing for SS, and living happily ever after.
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