Retirement Facts

ANSWER: B. 46%
Aggressive as those savings targets appear to be, they may not be based on a careful analysis of their individual circumstances. Only 46 percent report they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in retirement.
Source: The 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2013)
One of the primary vehicles that workers use to save for retirement is an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan, such as a 401(k). Eighty-two percent of eligible workers (38 percent of all workers) say they participate in such a plan with their current employer, and another 8 percent of eligible workers report they have money in such a plan, although they are not currently contributing.
Source: The 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2013)
Sixty-six percent of workers report they and/or their spouse have saved for retirement, although a sizable percentage of workers report they have virtually no savings or investments. Among RCS worker respondents providing this type of information, 28 percent say they have less than $1,000. In total, 57 percent report that the total value of their household’s savings and investments, excluding the value of their primary home and any defined benefit plans, is less than $25,000.
Source: The 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2013)
Many workers are adjusting some of their expectations about retirement, perhaps in response to the reduced level of confidence about their retirement finances. Twenty-five percent of workers in the 2013 RCS say the age at which they expect to retire has changed in the past year, and of those, the vast majority (88 percent) report that their expected retirement age has increased. This means that in 2013, 22 percent of all workers planned to postpone their retirement.
Source: The 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2013)
The percentage of workers confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement is essentially unchanged from the record lows observed in 2011. While more than half express some level of confidence (13 percent are very confident and 38 percent are somewhat confident), 28 percent are not at all confident (up from 23 percent in 2012 but statistically equivalent to 27 percent in 2011), and 21 percent are not too confident.
Source: The 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2013)
More than half of workers (56 percent) report they and/or their spouse have not tried to calculate how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in retirement.
Source: The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2012)
Although 56 percent of workers expect to receive benefits from a defined benefit plan in retirement, only 33 percent report that they and/or their spouse currently have such a benefit with a current or previous employer.
Source: The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2012)
Many workers report they have virtually no savings and investments. In total, 60 percent of workers report that the total value of their household’s savings and investments, excluding the value of their primary home and any defined benefit plans, is less than $25,000.
Source: The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2012)
Employment insecurity looms large: Forty-two percent identify job uncertainty as the most pressing financial issue facing most Americans today.
Source: The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2012)
Americans’ confidence in their ability to retire comfortably is stagnant at historically low levels. Just 14 percent are very confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement (statistically equivalent to the low of 13 percent measured in 2011 and 2009).
Source: The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, ebri.org (March 2012)
Households earning $50,000 and over need about 80% of pre-retirement earnings to maintain the same level of consumption in retirement. Households earning less need a higher percentage.
Source: How Much to Save for a Secure Retirement, Center for Retirement Research (11.2011)
The median net worth of families with a head of household age 75 or older is 20% higher than that of baby boomers ages 45-54.
Source: Retirement Planning and the Elder Market: Advisor Strategies to Understand and Work with Senior Clients, Insured Retirement Institute, (10.17.11)
Nearly a quarter of adults age 50 and older exhausted all of their savings during the economic downturn.
Source: Income Security: The Effect of the 2007-2009 Recession on Older Adults, U.S. Government Accountability Office (10.18.11)
13% of pre-retirees (people over age 50 who have not yet retired) think their health will be significantly worse in retirement than it is now. 39% of retirees report that it actually is worse.
Source: Poll: Retirement and Health, NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health (09.2011)
When compared to men, women are less confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement, with 34% of women expressing confidence, compared to 41% of men. While half of all individuals with at least $500,000 in investable assets are women, five out of ten women feel they need assistance in some areas of managing their finances.
Source: Women, Retirement, and Advisors: Concerned About Meeting Retirement Expectations, Female Boomers Seek Expert Advice, Insured Retirement Institute (09.26.11)
In the United States, the average retirement age for men is 64 and for women 62.
Source: What Is the Average Retirement Age?, Center for Retirement Research (08.2011)
Americans' total retirement investment assets exceeded $17.5 trillion at the end of 2010. Retirement savings accounted for 37% of all household financial assets in the United States.
Source: The U.S. Retirement Market, Fourth Quarter 2010, Investment Company Institute (04.13.11)
IRAs hold more than 25% of all retirement assets in the United States. A substantial portion of these assets originated in other tax-qualified retirement plans, such as defined benefit (pension) and 401(k) plans, and were moved to IRAs through rollovers.
Source: Fast Facts from EBRI, Employee Benefit Research Institute (06.30.11)
The number of large companies offering traditional pension plans hit a record low in 2011. Only 13 Fortune 100 companies sponsor a traditional pension plan open to newly hired workers, down from 17 in 2010 and 89 in 1985.
Source: Prevalence of Retirement Plan Types in the Fortune 100 in 2011, Towers Watson (07.2011)