Retirement Factoids
We understand the incredible challenges you'll face as you prepare for the transition to retirement. Our job is to help make your transition easier and keep you on course. Our goal is to help you realize your dreams and expectations to the fullest extent possible.
Every Day —An estimated 7,600 Americans turned 65 years old each day in 2011. An estimated 11,400 Americans will turn 65 years old each day by the year 2029 (source: Government Accountability Office).
Later--More than one in three American workers (36%) believe that they will retire after age 65. Only one in nine Americans (11%) believed they would work past age 65 when the same question was asked in 1996 (source: EBRI).
Nervous Folks— Eighty-eight percent of 800 Americans surveyed indicated they are concerned about their ability to maintain a comfortable standard of living throughout their retirement years, an increase from 73% that were concerned just one year ago (source: Americans for Secure Retirement).
Individuals younger than age 59½ may be able to withdraw dollars from a pre-tax retirement plan (e.g., 401(k) plan or IRA) and not pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty if they qualify under any of 15 different exceptions that are available. Please consult a qualified tax advisor for details and recommendations (source: Internal Revenue Service).
"The wise man looks ahead.”(Proverbs 14:8a TLB)
Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals —The U.S. spent $1.9 trillion on health care in 2004. That total is projected to be $2.7 trillion in 2011 and $4.6 trillion in 2020 (source: National Center for Health Statistics).
All That I Need —Just 17 percent of American workers believe they should accumulate at least $1 million in savings and pre-tax accounts for their ultimate retirement needs (source: Employee Benefit Research Institute).
Will I Have Enough?— More than half of the Americans surveyed in mid-April 2011 (58 percent) are worried about their ability to maintain their current standard of living into and throughout their retirement years. In the first quarter 2002, only 35 percent of Americans worried about this issue (source: Gallup).
Seniors —Medicare enrollment is projected to rise from 49 million today to 81 millionin 2030 (source: Medicare).
Back To A New High— There were $3.1 trillion in 401(k) accounts nationwide as of Dec. 31, 2010, the largest amount recorded in these accounts at the end of any quarter in history. The previous record high was $3.0 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2007 (source: Investment Company Institute).
Not Nearly Enough Money— Only one out of every seven Americans (14 percent) surveyed in January 2011 has already saved at least $250,000 for his/her future retirement. One thousand adults participated in this study (source: Scottrade).
Is That Enough? —Seventy-two percent of American workers surveyed believe that they will need to accumulate no more than $1 million to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle during their retirement years (source: Employee Benefit Research Institute).
Why Not Everyone?— Less than three out of every five workers in the U.S. (59 percent) are currently saving money for their future retirement (source: Employee Benefit Research Institute).
Not Much —The maximum Social Security retirement benefit that could be earned by an individual reaching full retirement age in the year 2011 (i.e., at age 66 years) is $2,366 a month (source: Social Security Administration).
Miscalculating Your Budget —Research suggests that creating an annual budget instead of a monthly one works better, largely because we feel less confident in our annual estimates, so we tend to add more cushioning for unexpected expenses. In one study, college students underestimated their monthly expenses by 40 percent while overestimating their annual expenses by 3 percent (source: U.S. News & World Report).
Too Healthy or Too Sick —Thirty-four percent of American workers age 60 to 69 believe that their greatest financial risk during their retirement years is a catastrophic out-of-pocket expense associated with a major health event. Source: Hartford Financial Services Group
Not Paid Off? —Fifty-two percent of retirees are still making monthly payments on home mortgage debt. Source: Society of Actuaries
Not Enough —Less than one in five working Americans (19%) is
contributing enough money on a pre-tax basis to his/her retirement accounts to realistically project that he/she
will be able to retire by age 65. Source: Nyhart, Tom Totten, Craig Harrell
Too Healthy or Too Sick —Thirty-four percent of American workers age 60-69 believe that their greatest financial risk during their retirement years is a catastrophic out-of-pocket expense associated with a major health event. An additional 26% of American workers feel their greatest financial risk is outliving the retirement assets they have accumulated. Source: Hartford Financial Services Group
Enough Set Aside? —The present value of retirement assets that working Americans have already set aside (including future pensions to be received) is $6.6 trillion less than the present value of assets required to maintain their current standard of living. The interest rate assumed in the present value calculation (i.e., the discount rate) is 3%. Source: Retirement USA
Why Growth Is Needed —An individual living on a fixed income over the 20 years from the end of 1989 to the end of 2009 would have suffered a 40% loss of purchasing power over the two decades using the consumer price index (CPI) as a gauge of his/her inflation. The CPI is a measure of inflation compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Studies. Source: Department of Labor
Different Opinion Today —Forty-three percent of American workers in 2008 believed that during their retirement years they would be able to withdraw at least 10% per year from their pre-tax retirement accounts without dipping into the principal balance of the accounts. Source: MetLife Retirement Income IQ Test
A Few Steps Behind— A recent survey by MetLife called the “Retirement Readiness Index” found that more than half of respondents (age 55-64) are behind in taking recommended steps toward retirement, and one-quarter said they were “significantly behind.” Thirteen percent said they had no retirement goals and 7 percent admitted they haven’t started saving. Source: MetLife, Boomer Market Advisor
Going Down— More than half of retired Americans surveyed (56%) believe that in their lifetime Social Security will be forced to reduce the promised level of benefits scheduled to be paid to them. Source: Gallup
Can’t Retire— Forty-seven percent of Americans currently between the ages of 56-62 would run out of the funds necessary to pay for basic retirement expenditures if they retire at age 65. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
Scared to Death— More than three out of every five Americans questioned (61%) between the ages of 44 to 75 admit they fear the prospect of depleting their accumulated assetsduring retirement more than they fear death. More than 3,200 Americans were surveyed for the poll. Source: Allianz Life Insurance Company
Need to Do More— One in four American workers surveyed (25%) admit that they are “significantly behind” in the accumulation of assetsnecessary for their eventually retirement. Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute
And They’re Healthy— An average American couple both age 75 and in good health would need to have set aside $265,000 (i.e., a present value amount required at age 75) to pay for future healthcare costs that they will incur, including any long-term care assistance. Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Old Age— One in four Americans currently age 65 years old will live to at least age 90. Source: Social Security Administration
The Biggest Worry— More American workers (17%) identify the rising cost of health care insurance as the economic risk that concerns them the most as they approach their retirement years. Other perils ranked high on the list included inflation fears, the cost of long-term care, the ability to maintain a desired standard of living and failing to leave an inheritance to heirs. Source: Society of Actuaries
What To Do?— Two out of every three American workers (66%) that are employed by corporations that provide a pre-tax retirement plan believe that they could work and save funds until age 65 and still not have sufficient assets accumulated to provide their desired retirement lifestyle. Source: Transamerica Retirement Survey
Might Run Out— Fifty-eight percent of American workers surveyed (i.e., individuals that have not yet retired) are concerned that they will completely depletetheir life savings during retirement before they die. Source: Society of Actuaries
EBRI Survey. A mere 19% of the retirees polled said that they are “very” confident about having sufficient money to live comfortably through their retirement years. Close to 40% of the retirees say they're not confident about having enough money, which is up from 32% in 2009 and 34% in 2008.
Employee Benefit Research Institute. Only 16% of workers said they're “very confident” about their retirement income.
No Kidding?!— On March 2, 2005, then Fed Chairman Alan Greenspantold the House Budget Committee that the U.S. government needed to undertake “major deficit-reducing actions.” Greenspan said, “I fear we may have already committed more physical resources to the baby-boom generation in its retirement years than our economy has the capacity to deliver.” Source: House of Representatives
Needing Help— A 60-year old American has a 40% chance of requiring nursing home care at some point during his or her remaining lifetime. Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute
Clueless— Nearly one in three working Americans (32 percent) are unable to project whenthey will be able to retire (i.e., their answer to the question “when will you retire” is “I have no idea”). Source: Hartford Retirement Survey
No Safety Net— Fifty-eight percent of workers in the U.S. plan to work past age 67 because they do not believe Social Security will still be available — an 11 percent increase over a year ago. Source: 2009 Sun Life Financial Inc. Unretirement Index
More Money— The top reason for working past age 67 has changed in the past year from “staying mentally engaged” to “earning enough money to live well.” Source: 2009 Sun Life Financial Inc. Unretirement Index
Lack of Confidence— Only 28 percent of employed Americans are very confident they have done a good job of preparing for their retirement. Source: 2009 Sun Life Financial Inc. Unretirement Index
Growing Unretirement— Fifty-five percent of U.S. workers will continue to work full- or part-time at age 67, and a record high 28 percent will work full-time past that age. Source: 2009 Sun Life Financial Inc. Unretirement Index
Mass affluent investors, long the preserve of brand-name brokerages, are turning from wirehouses and big regionals in favor of advisers they believe to be independent, according to a new report out of market research firm Spectrem Group. Full Story
Cost of Health Insurance— Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance for a family have gone up 131% over the past decade, an increase of 8.7% per year. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Burdened By Debt— Twenty-two percent of American households headed by a retired person are still making a monthly mortgage payment or have outstanding debt as a result of a home equity loan. Twenty years ago (1989), only 16% of these families had mortgage debt or home equity debt. Source: Federal Reserve
Boom-Boom— Baby Boomers are traditionally thought of as the 78 million Americans born between the years 1946 and 1964. Of the boomers born in 1955 or earlier (i.e., the group turning ages 54-63 in 2009), only 31% are financially prepared for retirementas of today. Source: McKinsey, BusinessWeek
Not Working— Thirty-six percent of current U.S. retirees between the ages of 55 and 75 retired sooner than they originally planned as a result of job loss, poor health or an early retirement buyout from their employer. Source: Society of Actuaries
Permanent Vacation— Only one in four working Americans (26%) surveyed in April 2009 believe they will be able to retire before age 65. Just two years ago (2007), 38% of workers anticipated an early retirement. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
What, Me Worry?— Forty-five percent of retirees age 55 to 75 surveyed in April 2009 have either not calculated how long their assets are anticipated to last during their retirement years or they have never given the issue any thought. Source: Society of Actuaries