THE STATE OF AMERICAN RETIREMENT

In March 2012, EBRI published the findings of its 22nd retirement survey. Before we look at the findings, we need a benchmark to access and evaluate the findings — namely how much money we need for a reasonably secure retirement. The consensus of financial advisors is that the average recommended savings is about 8 to 10 times your final annual salary. The figure, by some estimates, is around $1 million.

Some other findings:

• Many Americans feel insecure about their employment, with 42% identifying job uncertainty as the most pressing financial issue facing Americans today.

• 22% of retirees said they’re taking more than they thought they would out of their accounts, depleting their savings faster than they had anticipated.

• Since most Americans have not prepared for retirement, 22% are putting off retirement to a later date, while 7% say they don’t plan to retire at all and will continue to work. That, of course, may not be up to them (see below).

• Half of  Americans who currently are retired say their retirement wasn’t planned, that is, they retired because they left the workforce unexpectedly due to health problems, disability, or changes at their employer, such as downsizing or closure.

To read the EBRI survey report in PDF, click here.