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U.S. Retirement Readiness: It’s not as bad as you think—It’s worse!

Posted by Nathan Carlson on Monday, March 03, 2014 @ 02:38 PM

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Slide1Stig Nybo, President of Pension Sales and Distribution at Transamerica Retirement Solutions, in conjunction with Liz Alexander have written a must-read book on retirement entitled, Transform Tomorrow, Awakening the Super Saver In Pursuit of Retirement Readiness.  The book calls attention to the looming retirement crisis in the United States and suggests some fundamental changes to how the retirement industry should present this issue to employees.  

Here are some startling statistics: 

  • 80% of people surveyed said they thought they had enough money saved for retirement and expected to be “very comfortable,” despite the fact that the average 401(k) account balance stood at that time at just $67,000 (2010).

  • The total retirement savings for individuals in their 60s, including IRAs and 401(k) balances, at the end of 2010 was only $275,517.

  • At retirement, employees need about 20 times their pre-retirement salary to avoid out-living their retirement savings.

  • Retirement should not even be a consideration for participants unless

  1. Their mortgage is paid off

  2. They have no credit card debt

  3. No adult children or grandchildren are living with them, and

  4. They are not responsible for any big-ticket items like a college education

  • Between the ages of 50 and 81, which is the average life expectancy of most 50-year-olds today—we are likely to run up bills totaling $1.4 million.

  • People in their eighties spend 57% more on health insurance that their counterparts who are in their fifties.

  • 69% of older Baby Boomers (born 1945-1964) are financially ill-prepared for retirement, and many of them don’t even realize it.

In summary, Nybo states, “The average American worker has a front row seat on the Titanic, headed for a retirement iceberg.”

This book is available at Amazon.com.  

Topics: Retirement Planning

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