Do People Plan to Tap Their Home Equity in Retirement?

Introduction

Many of today’s workers are at risk of having insufficient resources in retirement. The reason for this gloomy picture is a rapidly changing retirement landscape defined by a rising Social Security retirement age, a sharp decline in traditional pensions coupled with modest 401(k) balances, and longer life spans. Yet, in spite of these trends, Americans have not responded by saving more on their own. Outside of employer-sponsored pension plans, individuals save virtually nothing for retirement.