Nearly one-half of the oldest Baby Boomers (those ages 56-62) are at risk of not having enough income to pay for basic needs and uninsured healthcare costs during retirement. That’s the central finding of a new Employee Benefit Research Institute report.
The solutions are obvious and have been repeated many times before. First, run a retirement needs assessment. My favorite tools for doing so are Fidelity’s myPlan Snapshot at the more detailed Retirement Quick Check (both can be found here). If you’re nearing retirement age and don’t have enough socked away, you’ll probably need to work longer. If you’re younger, let this be a motivator to save a higher percentage of your income. Unfortunately, as Bloomberg Businessweek pointed out recently, many younger workers are either not getting the message or are too buried under student loan debt to be able to save.
How are you doing on the retirement savings front? Have you calculated your retirement needs? If so, what’s your favorite online retirement needs calculator?
This is no different than when Pharoah said to Joseph, sure, let your people come, and have their choice of land among us.
Best of intentions, but the human heart and self-interest takeover.
One, advisors want people scared, and living off the dripping of their accounts, because that is the lion’s share of their income.
Two, the government wants us scared, so in “our best interest” they can change the law and force annuitization of our own money.
The solutions to these problems are simply, but the real trial is, do we go against the tide of popular belief when it comes to our wallet?
That’s great, Julia. Sometimes fear can be a powerful motivator to do the right thing. When you’re older you’ll be especially glad you started investing when you were young.
I’m 29 and have been putting money in my 401(k) for 2.5 years, even when my hours were cut by 50% and I was living on rice and beans! I don’t have this value from parents or when growing up- I’m actually not that great with money and love shopping and eating out, but our work’s 401k counselor did a pretty good job of scaring me into not touching that money, and being future-minded.