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Nearly half of older households have no retirement savings

Written by

Diane Archer

in

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A new GAO report, based on a Survey of Consumer Finances from 2017, finds that nearly half of all households headed by someone 55 or older in the US have no retirement savings. Most households have low retirement savings. The US retirement system needs improving.

There is a good likelihood that many Americans will outlive their retirement savings. Health care costs and other expenses are keeping people from being able to save pre-retirement. On top of that, an increasing number of people are retiring and living longer.

At the same time, more and more companies are eliminating pensions and replacing them with one-time payments that are worth far less. The Treasury and Labor Departments, which oversee these employer plans, are not focused on protecting workers’ retirement security, reports Josh Gotbaum for The Atlantic.

President Trump recently issued an executive order that calls for expanding workplace retirement plans as a way to strengthen people’s retirement security. But, there are already thousands of these retirement plans. The executive order is, in fact, a gift to Wall Street. It gives financial-services companies more ways to collect workers’ money and receive fees for their work. It does nothing to ensure that Americans can retire with dignity.

Americans should demand retirement security from our elected officials. Social Security needs strengthening as Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman John Larson have proposed. The Social Security 2100 Act would fully fund Social Security for the rest of the 21st century. No Republicans are co-sponsors.

If you want Congress to expand Social Security, please sign this petition.

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Comments

One response to “Nearly half of older households have no retirement savings”

  1. BC Shelby Avatar
    BC Shelby

    …with m,any blue collar occupations still paying low stagnant wages, while living costs continue to rise (some like healthcare and housing skyrocketing out of control) it is difficult to impossible to put any meaningful amount away each month for retirement. Most workers in the “non college” degree segment are struggling paycheque to paycheque, month to month just to cover the necessary expenses. Even some with degrees (such as teachers who often pay out of pocket for classroom supplies and had their tax deduction reduced), and are saddled with a mountain of loan debt thanks to skyrocketing costs for post secondary education, are also feeling the pinch as employers are looking to pay as little as they can get away with.

    True, Social Security originally was meant to be part of one’s retirement plan, however that was in the days where many occupations paid a living wage as well as offered pension and retirement plans of their own. With the decline of organised labour in the 1980s, and greed being seen as “good” wages stagnated in many occupations for decades and pensions began to disappear save for those in government, the military, and a few industries (like the railroads and some aerospace companies). For the average worker pensions have become a thing of the past while CEO’s not only reap 200 – 300 times what a company’s rank and file workers earn (50 years ago it was a factor of 20 – 25 times), and what they receive in severance/retirement packages would make quite a few pro athletes jealous.

    This is what moving wealth upwards over the last three and a half decades has done and why many retirees today only have Social Security to look forward to.

    Reply

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