The headline from a recent survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) says it all: Only 13% of working Americans are “very confident” they’ll have enough money for retirement.
That’s the lowest level on record for the survey. It’s also none too surprising.
As Americans, we’re accustomed to having options. There’s always another answer, another solution, another way to lick a problem. (Sometimes, though, I think that’s how we got ourselves into the mess we’re in right now. Don’t have the money? Charge it. Can’t afford the bigger house? Leverage yourself beyond sanity.)
But what if you’re retired—not “almost retired” or “newly retired,” but actually well into retirement—and the market downturn has depleted your retirement savings? What are your options?
A piece that aired last week on “60 Minutes” has gotten some attention and a lot of play from those arguing that a retirement system based on 401(k)s or other investment accounts is fundamentally broken.
But I couldn’t disagree more completely with the data, inferences, and conclusions in this report—and I was pretty irked by some of the misrepresentations in the program. (Does shouting at the screen and stomping around the room count as “irked”?)
