Many Americans Unaware They Lack Sufficient Savings
August 16, 2008
More than 40% of the American households that are at risk of being financially unprepared for retirement don’t even know it, according to research by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
The CRR’s latest analysis of the National Retirement Risk Index, which was updated in February, shows that 61% of American workers may be financially unprepared to retire. The represents a 17% increase over the previous index number, which was released in July 2007.
Surging health care costs are affecting retirement savings. The CRR estimates that that a couple retiring in 2010 will need about $200,000 in savings to cover their future out-of-pocket health care expenses. Health care costs are expected to keep climbing.
“While recent studies have found that households are not generally knowledgeable about personal finance issues, we wanted to know whether they have a good gut sense of their own retirement preparedness,” said CRR Director Alicia Munnell. “We found that nearly 60% do and nearly 40% do not. Some worry too much. Some worry too little.”
For more information on related topics, visit the following:
