‘Alarming number’: Boomers struggle to save enough for retirement, survey finds
Many baby boomers don’t have nearly enough money to retire.
The median amount they have saved for retirement is $144,000, according to a recent survey from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, a figure that should be a “call to action” for boomers, said one financial expert.
“When we think about it, $144,000 to last in retirement that could be 20 or 30 years just isn’t going to go very far,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of the Transamerica Center, in a conversation with Yahoo Finance. “It’s a very alarming number.”
Financial firms, such as Fidelity Investments, recommend those nearing 67 to have saved 10 times their salary. But Collinson said the shortfall for baby boomers is largely because of the late emergence of 401(k) pre-tax retirement plans.
‘The overall retirement landscape has changed’
Employer-based 401(k) plans didn’t become readily available until the late 1990s, according to Collinson, and therefore younger generations had an advantage.
“Baby boomers were well in their careers when 401(k)s were invented,” Collinson said. “The overall retirement landscape has changed from defined benefit plans to 401(k) plans [and] boomers are the closest generation to retirement.”
Read more @Yahoo Money
