HECM Advisors Group - Fed Survey: One-Third of U.S. Households Unprepared to Retirement

Fed Survey: One-Third of U.S. Households Unprepared to Retirement

The Federal Reserve Board published the results of a new online survey this week, which found that 31 percent of non-retired respondents have no retirement savings or pension, including 19 percent of those ages 55 to 64.

Additionally, almost half of adults were not actively thinking about financial planning for retirement, with 24 percent saying they had given only a little thought to financial planning for their retirement and another 25 percent saying they had done no planning at all. Of those who have given at least some thought to retirement planning and plan to retire at some point, 25 percent didn’t know how they will pay their expenses in retirement.

According to the survey, the Great Recession pushed back the planned date of retirement for two-fifths of those ages 45 and over who had not yet retired, and 15 percent of those who had retired since 2008 reported that they retired earlier than planned due to the recession. Among those ages 55 to 64 who had not yet retired, only 18 percent plan to follow the traditional retirement model of working full time until a set date and then stop working altogether, while 24 percent expected to keep working as long as possible, 18 percent expected to retire and then work a part-time job, and 9 percent expected to retire and then become self-employed.

The survey was conducted on behalf of the Board by GfK, an online consumer research firm. Data collection began September 17, 2013, and concluded on October 4, 2013. Just over 4,100 respondents completed the survey. To view the survey’s key findings visit www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2013-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201407.pdf

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Don Graves, RICP®, CLTC®, Certified Senior Advisor, CSA®

President and Chief Conversation Starter at HECM Advisors Group/Institute

Don Graves, RICP® is a Retirement Income Certified Professional and one of the Nation’s Leading Educators on the Emerging Role of Reverse Mortgages in Retirement Income Planning. He is president and founder of the HECM Institute for Housing Wealth Studies and an adjunct professor of Retirement Income at The American College of Financial Services. He has helped tens of thousands of Advisors as well as more than 3,000 personal clients since the year 2000