I’ve never heard this discussed by men, but some women carry the worry that they will end up old and alone, with no money and no home. It’s not generally ever-present, but rears up as reports on foreclosures, unemployment, plant closings, and law-firm and hospital layoffs proliferate in the press. It’s often termed “bag-lady syndrome”.
This comment on Steve Utkus’ recent post about retirement struck a major chord with me:
“Our children’s incomes are not increasing, and they have their own children to support, let alone saving for their own retirement. No one is to blame or is being stingy; we simply must plan for and take charge of our own later years.”
We were vacationing last month in Scotland. At a small country hotel—on a misty Western isle—I mentioned to a group of guests that I conduct research at Vanguard on retirement issues. You guessed it: Suddenly the conversation shifted from the weather (ever-changing in Scotland) to worries about finances and retirement security.
You were getting close to retirement, and you’d thought you’d saved enough.
And then the market tanked.
So, you decided to stick it out and try to regain what you’d lost. Other changes to your portfolio structure or your investing strategy could wait.
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.
