Are Americans Saving Enough For Retirement?
IB#7
Introduction
Popular financial advice often suggests that households should aim to replace between 65 and 85 percent of pre-retirement income in retirement in order to maintain their pre-retirement living standards. Some households can achieve replacement rates that are in the recommended range through Social Security and pension income alone. Others can reach these replacement rates with the addition of income from part-time work during retirement, housing equity and inheritances. But most households will need to rely on their savings to supplement their other retirement income. Yet, reports in the popular press often warn that Americans are not saving enough for retirement. How accurate are these warnings? Are Americans jeopardizing their well-being in their later years through inadequate retirement preparations? This Issue in Brief provides an overview of the available evidence on whether Americans are saving enough for retirement...
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Cori E. Uccello is the Senior Health Fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries and a consultant for the Urban Institute. This brief was written while Ms. Uccello was a Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute. The brief is based on a paper by Eric M. Engen, William G. Gale and Cori E. Uccello, “The Adequacy of Household Saving,” published in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. The author especially wishes to thank Bill Gale for very helpful suggestions. The author also thanks Andy Eschtruth, Richard Johnson, Alicia Munnell and Annika Sundén for helpful comments. Any errors or opinions expressed in this Issue in Brief are solely those of the author.