Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Retirement Readiness: What the SCF Reveals

Boomers are not ready for retirement. That's the finding of a new report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, which analyzes 2010 Survey of Consumer Finance data to determine the retirement readiness of older householders.

The typical household headed by a 55-to-64-year-old has only $120,000 in 401(k)/IRA savings--about the same as in 2007, according to CRR director and author of the report, Alicia H. Munnell. She warns that these households will be surprised at how little their retirement savings provides them in retirement. If a couple, for example, uses this savings to purchase a joint-survivor annuity, it would pay out only $575 a month. Except for Social Security, that $575 per month is likely to be the couple's only source of income, says Munnell, because the typical older householder has "virtually no financial assets outside of its 401(k) plan."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 401(k) Plans in 2010: An Update from the SCF 

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