Document sans titre
By Ruth Helman, Mathew
Greenwald & Associates; Jack VanDerhei, Temple University and EBRI Fellow;
and Craig Copeland, EBRI
• Retirement worries
growing—Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable
retirement has dropped to its lowest level in seven years, reflecting worries
about health costs, the economy, and home values, according to the 18th annual
Retirement Confidence Survey® (RCS). Decreases in confidence occurred across
all age groups and income levels but were particularly acute among younger workers
and those with lower income.
• Overall retirement
confidence drops sharply—The percentage of workers very confident about
having enough money for a comfortable retirement decreased sharply, from 27
percent in 2007 to 18 percent in 2008, a decline of 9 percentage points and
the biggest one-year drop in the 18-year history of the survey. Retiree confidence
in having a financially secure retirement has also decreased sharply, from 41
percent very confident to 29 percent, down 12 percentage points.
• Health care costs
have become a big issue for retirees—Among retirees who left the work
force earlier than planned, more than half (54 percent) say they did so because
of health problems or disability. Almost half of retirees (44 percent) say they
have spent more than expected on health care expenses. More than half of retirees
(54 percent) say they are now more concerned about their financial future than
they were right after they retired, a 14 percentage-point increase from a year
ago (40 percent in 2007).
• Workers may be
waking up to the lack of health insurance in retirement—The RCS finds
that 34 percent of all workers now expect to have access to employer-paid health
insurance in retirement, down 8 percentage points from last year (42 percent
in 2007). Although 41 percent of retirees say they currently have access to
health insurance through a former employer, many employers are eliminating health
care coverage for future retirees.
• Retirement planning
up, but still not high—Less than half of workers (47 percent) say they
and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need for
a comfortable retirement, up from the 42 percent measured in 2004–2006
and considerably higher than the low point of 29 percent recorded in 1996. As
before, the 2008 RCS finds that doing a retirement savings calculation is particularly
effective at changing worker behavior: 44 percent who calculated a goal changed
their
retirement planning, and of those almost two-thirds (59 percent) started saving
or investing more.
• Most savings levels
are modest—The percentage of workers (72 percent) saying they have saved
for retirement has returned to 2001–2006 levels after a slight dip in
2007 (66 percent). Forty-nine percent of workers report total savings and investments
(not including the value of their primary residence or any defined benefit plans)
of less than $50,000. Twenty-two percent of workers and 28 percent of retirees
say they have no savings of any kind.
More info, click-here
Home
