The National Retirement Risk Index: An Update from the 2019 SCF

The brief’s key findings are:

• From 2016 to 2019, the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) fell slightly from 50 percent to 49 percent.
• This improvement reflected gains in stock and, particularly, house prices, which were partly offset by lower interest rates and Social Security replacement rates.
• In 2020, the economy was hit by COVID and the ensuing recession.
• Higher unemployment in 2020, offset somewhat by the continued rise in stock and house prices, increased the NRRI to 51 percent.
• In any case, half of today’s workers remain unprepared for retirement, underscoring the need for universal access to employer-based savings plans.