China Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 43% have less than $10k for retirement By Chavon Sutton March 9, 2010 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday. The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey. That excludes the value of primary homes and defined-benefit pension plans. Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27%, from 20% in 2009. Confidence in ability to save enough for a comfortable retirement hovered at 16% of respondents, the second lowest point in the 20-year history of the survey. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ax Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Oh well, somebody else will just have to pay their way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeysc23 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 gov't to the rescue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 That's very scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 That excludes the value of primary homes and defined-benefit pension plans. Well hell, that skews things a bit. Primary homes are a pretty important asset. What is determind to be a "defined-benefit pension plan." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I wonder what percentage have cell phones and cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 The government should do something about this. What about a pyramid scheme? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I wonder what percentage have cell phones and cable. Or a shiny new car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQCOWBOY Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Personally, I'm for the New Refrigerator plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I think the government should print $13 trillion and pay off everyone's debts. Problem solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Well hell, that skews things a bit. Primary homes are a pretty important asset. What is determind to be a "defined-benefit pension plan." Traditional pensions. Only a few people still have them, mainly government workers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisenberg Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I can't comprehend how I already have quite a bit more saved for retirement than these people and I've only been in the workforce for 2.5 years. Kind of crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 How is that even possible? I mean, I know it's possible, I'm just shocked that it's true. Curious what percentage of people are below 30 and how they factor into that number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodBits Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I did a report in high school about saving for retirement, and I've got plans to put aside at least $5k a year (more once I can afford it) for retirement as soon as I enter to workforce. It's really sad how few people even think about retirement savings, even if they can afford to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 How is that even possible? I mean, I know it's possible, I'm just shocked that it's true. Curious what percentage of people are below 30 and how they factor into that number. Because, the median earnings for men in the US is around 45K. For women, its around 36k. I tend to think that most people don't make enough to afford a house, kids, cars, etc and a solid retirement contribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I did a report in high school about saving for retirement, and I've got plans to put aside at least $5k a year (more once I can afford it) for retirement as soon as I enter to workforce. It's really sad how few people even think about retirement savings, even if they can afford to. You would be surprised how many people don't even take advantage of employer matching. A guaranteed 100% return in the first year seems like a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Yeah, I don't get it either. I've always done 10% off the top (ingrained by my parents) and taken advantage of whatever employee matching there is. I have a pretty decent chunk of change socked away for my age. But this is also a pretty affluent area (in general) and there are more opportunities around here than say, the Kansas prairie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Most people dont put their priorities in the right order. It's a failure of parents, but they might not know either. Id love to see High Schools MANDATE personal finance for every student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Most people dont put their priorities in the right order.It's a failure of parents, but they might not know either. Id love to see High Schools MANDATE personal finance for every student. That's a good and interesting idea. I've also noticed that too many people don't truly understand what the word "need" means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 If your income is low and you have no other source of support, it's also easy to get in over your head, even if you aren't foolish with your money. Some of these people may be foolish, but others may just have not earned much and had unfortunate setbacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodBits Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 You would be surprised how many people don't even take advantage of employer matching. A guaranteed 100% return in the first year seems like a good deal. Yeah that was a big part of my report actually. Your savings can really add up if your employer matches any percentage of it. If your savings gets up to $20-30k within the first couple years out of college, you've got a good shot at having well over $1,000,000 saved up by the time you retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodBits Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Id love to see High Schools MANDATE personal finance for every student. I absolutely agree. That should be a part of every curriculum for every high school senior in the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I did a report in high school about saving for retirement, and I've got plans to put aside at least $5k a year (more once I can afford it) for retirement as soon as I enter to workforce. It's really sad how few people even think about retirement savings, even if they can afford to. This right here is the answer. Kids entering the workforce should be taught the imprtance of preparing for the future. EDIT: Or what Kilmer said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Sad. I thought it used to be a required class. Maybe it was just taught as part of home ec. Then again in private school it was never mentioned. That said, I was taught the rule of 72 which is the best incentive I've seen to invest early and invest often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 What is this retirement you speak of?:paranoid: Work, for the night is coming, Work through the morning hours; Work while the dew is sparkling, Work ’mid springing flowers; Work when the day grows brighter, Work in the glowing sun; Work, for the night is coming, When man’s work is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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