Retirement USA in the News

Americans must confront a multitrillion-dollar shortfall in savings if they plan to maintain their standard of living during retirement, according to a study released this week. RetirementUSA, an advocacy group, pegs the “retirement income deficit” at $6.6 trillion. That figure represents the present-value difference between pension and retirement savings and what people need to retire.

America's retirement crisis has reached epic proportions, according to a recent study by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research. The study estimates that the current retirement income deficit, or the gap between the retirement savings of U.S. households and what they need to have in order to maintain their living standards past retirement, is a whopping $6.6 trillion -- five times the projected federal deficit for 2010.

U.S. households are about $6.6 trillion short of having enough savings today to maintain their living standards in retirement, and pension freezes and 401(k) plan investment losses could make that deficit far worse, according to a news release by Retirement USA, a coalition of more than 20 national organizations that is promoting the need for an improved retirement system.

Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research reported on CNBC that Americans ages 32-64 are $6.6 TRILLION short of what they will need to retire. Earlier this week we wrote, as we have several times in the past, “The baby boomer is ill-prepared for retirement and simply cannot continue with her/his reckless spending. Debt will continue to be paid down, spending growth will be modest, and economic activity will be subdued.”