Data Source: ICI
Posted on 11/28/2015 6:15:46 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Only a small percentage of Americans are positioning themselves for a smooth transition to retirement.
Based on the composition of the financial media, one may imagine that the bulk of American households are consumed with avoiding psychological investing traps and choosing between the various forms of smart beta.
Unfortunately, however, these “challenges” are only applicable to a small segment of the population that has meaningful financial assets (or a realistic plan to acquire them). Below are eight statistics that better illustrate the status of American retirement savings, pulled from multiple recent studies.
According to a 2015 survey by the Investment Company Institute, only about one-third of U.S. households have any type of IRA. The number of households with an IRA increased by just 0.6 percent annually between 2000 and 2014.
Among households with no IRA, the average decisionmaker is 50 years old, household income is $38,000, and household financial assets total $35,000.
Among the Baby Boomer generation (those age 51 to 69 in 2015), just 38 percent have an IRA. That rate is only slightly higher than Generation X (age 35 to 50; 33 percent) and Millennials (18 to 34; 27 percent).
Data Source: ICI
Americans between the age of 50 and 70.5 are allowed to contribute an extra $1,000 each year to an IRA (for a total of $6,500). In 2014, just 14 percent of those eligible to contribute the extra $1,000 to a traditional IRA did so (16 percent of those eligible contributed the extra $1,000 to a traditional IRA).
According to the Fed’s Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households report released in 2015, 17 percent of Americans have given no thought to financial planning for retirement. About one in eight households has given “a lot” of thought to retirement.
Data Source: Federal Reserve.
Among households with more than $100,000 in annual income, 10 percent have given no thought to retirement. Among 18 to 29 year olds, 31 percent have given no thought to retirement planning.
More than half of the respondents to the Fed’s survey indicated they had no 401(k), 403(b), or similar defined contribution plan. Nearly 40 percent of those with $100,000 or more in annual household income indicated they had no 401(k).
Data Source: Federal Reserve. Reflects ownership of 401(k), 403(b), or similar defined contribution plan.
Among those without a 401(k), reasons for the absence include “unsure of best way to invest money contributed” (15 percent) and “plan to invest but have not yet signed up” (10 percent).
About 45 percent of Americans expect to continue working as a source of income in retirement. Another 25 percent expects a spouse to continue working to provide funds during retirement; 5 percent expect to rely on children or other family.
These percentages are even higher among those age 60 or higher:
Data Source: Federal Reserve.
A May 2015 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined the financial resources of investors approaching retirement. The GAO found that about half of households age 55 or older have no retirement savings (some of these households do report a defined benefit plan).
Those that do have “retirement savings” such as an IRA or 401(k) generally can’t expect much from these accounts in retirement:
Among [households] with some retirement savings, the median amount of those savings is about $104,000 for households age 55-64 and $148,000 for households age 65-74, equivalent to an inflation-protected annuity of $310 and $649 per month, respectively.
Social Security is the primary source of income for about half of households age 65 or older.
According to the GAO report, 41 percent of households age 55 to 64 have no retirement savings. Among these households, the median net worth is $21,000 and median non-retirement financial resources are $1,000. Just 22 percent of these households own a house with no debt, and 32 percent have a defined benefit plan through an employer.
Just 9 percent of households in this age bracket reported retirement savings (i.e., IRA and 401(k) assets) of $500,000 or more.
Fidelity reports that nearly half of its account holders make contributions in the 28 days leading up to the April 15 deadline.
While deadline contributions are better than no contributions, these procrastinators leave money on the table by delaying this action.
While the retirement outlook is extremely bleak for many Americans, there are a few data points that are encouraging about the financial situation of the country, according to a Fidelity report.
Michael Johnston is senior analyst for Fund Reference, and also serves as COO of parent company Poseidon Financial. His investment expertise has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and USA Today, among other publications. He resides in Chicago.
How much I pay IN TAXES and in DOUBLE TAXATION is in question. Spare me the lecture, friend. We are not enemies.
Dito
I am so looking forward to comparing notes with you! :-) Please ping me when you re-post it.
Double ditto. I'm so blessed to be married to a woman who shares the same views on money that I do. Sure there have been times in the past when one of us wanted the bigger house, or the other wanted a new car however we never both wanted the bigger house or new car at the same time, so the other was always there to be a good counter-balance to keep us on financial track, together.
I can't believe I forgot to post in my 'advice' above how critical it is to be financially aligned with one's husband or wife. I do not recall a single time my charming and delightful bride of 29 years and I have ever argued about money or what we spend it on. A blessing indeed.
If you have cash you don’t want to put in the crap-shoot equity markets, put in your home.
“The biggest expense appears to be medical insurance. “
This is what worries me the most and why I’ll probably always work. Even if part time or as the Wall Mart Greeter.
Its just way to expensive and it may deplete the savings way before you pass on.
I hate to use my once wealthy BIL as a reference, but he built three multi-million dollar houses, but did not pay for the next one with the proceeds from the former and now at 77 in poor health is having to downsize from the last house he built and only paid interest on the loan so after twenty years he still owes and owes to the tune of 750 grand and only SS coming in.
He and my sister both work part time to help but 750 grand is just that, too much grand for both of them. Then there is taxes on top of that and upkeep, utilities, etc. I’m getting depressed just thinking about it. My sister understands the issue, but the boss has been the one who brought in the big bucks that kept them in deep clover for so many years. Kids aren’t going to be much help.
Hope this isn’t a double post. Got sidetracked for an hour or so.
There is Obama’s PPACA.
You can get PPACA exchange health insurance subsidies if your household income is 100% to 400% of FPL.
There are a number of ways to get your income above 100% of FPL:
1. have a relative (or lady/male friend) with income move in
2. withdraw from your IRA
3. sell stock (or an interest in your home to your kids)
4. work part-time (such as minding relative’s kids)
5. rent a room in your home
6. hire your spouse and pay them taxable income
(you’ll be out FICA taxes)
“In fact, our investments are still growing our income.”
Our modest IRA’s growth exceeds our needs, so it’s growing while we are retired. Often I think we should reward ourselves by blowing it. We both just feel guilty over buying something we don’t need. But if the markets go south by 50% or so, we’ll be somewhat relieved to have not spent it.
When buying investment real estate, avoid detached houses unless the price far below historical averages. They require too much maintenance.
Also avoid condos, since fees are high.
Generally stick to townhouses and small apartment buildings.
Never own more than about ten units. You want to retire, not become a full-time landlord. I’d personally want to own only two small townhouses.
Remember the point is to live well.
Having fewer units means it is easier to keep your units filled with good tenants.
Social Security will continue to be around, just expect to get about 20% less than the annual benefit statements suggest.
I recall it. During your working years, spend less than you make, and invest the balance wisely. Repeat as necessary.
If this basic strategy isn’t first followed, no other plan of action will work.
None.
Those rental properties are not for the short term. You get them and hold on to them for years, decades. If you get them while you’re young and making good income you can use the losses to offset some of your income. That used to be pretty much unlimited but now they cap it and the alternative minimum tax makes it less attractive.
At some point, with rents going up and your mortgage payments ending you’ve got a positive cash flow AND the property itself has appreciated tremendously. Of course when you sell it you’ve already depreciated it but you can always avoid that for a while with a 1031 exchange.
You have to like to do it though. If you don’t, it’s not worth it.
The lower the value of your property the harder it is to find good tenants. Low end tenant are terrible. The higher the rent the better.
The best tenants are recently separated men. They're usually traveling for business or staying with their new girlfriend so there's little wear and tear on the place. Sorry to say that but it's true.
Welcome to the battle between ants vs. grasshoppers.
In the long run savers will be pillaged by the politicians in the name of fairness, micro aggression or just buying votes.
The politicians will probably pick on naive young people, not wide-awake older voters with money. Just keep your retirement income under $250K and you should dodge most of the worst taxes.
Unfortunately indiscriminate and random blood in the streets is not going to solve the problem IMHO. A very focused and surgical strike is what is needed, along with a very few big name martyrs who are prominent as enemies of the Constitution and Republic that will get some peoples mind right and then immediately restore Constitutional governance declaring the 17 Amendment null and void and requesting state Legislatures who wish to be a part of the United states and adhere to the Constitution, choose their Senators, and we can get on with life in the Republic. Anything less will be business as usual.
The best we can hope for is a revival of the Constitutional spirit that inspired the Founding Fathers and avoid the bloodshed altogether. That certainly was not the case in their day.
I prefer renting to obese black ladys with horrible attitudes who date #BlackLivesMatter activists.
I am so screwed.
I suppose I could google MyRa, but since you brought it up and I’ve never heard of one, would you consider a short explanation?
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