• About Me
  • Contact Me

Frugal Living

Indulging in life, financially responsible

survey

EBRI 2016

March 22, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

The Employee Benefit Research Institute, or EBRI for short, just released their 2016 survey results of 1000 workers and 500 retirees.  The annual survey has been ongoing for a couple of decades now, so it provides a good indicator of where Americans are in regards to retirement confidence and thought process.

You can view the full survey brief here: https://www.ebri.org

My own conclusions after skimming through the charts and figures is that Americans are still on course for a rude retirement awakening.

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.32.55 AM

21% of workers in 2016 are confident that they will be able to retire comfortably and 19% are not at all confident with the rest in-between, but 67% of current workers expect to continue working in retirement.

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.15.47 AM

Compare the blue line (current workers) with the red line (current retirees).  Either we are going to get used to seeing older people in the workforce, or a lot of people are going to be in for a rude surprise when they cannot find employment as they get older.

Looking at the Savings and Investments by age doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.  The Baby Boomer generation is woefully underprepared for retirement with 1/3 of respondents claiming less than $25k in savings.  That would probably cover 1-2 years of living expenses.  Gen X and Y (Millenials) aren’t doing much better.

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.22.54 AM

Married men seem to be the most motivated to save for retirement.  Unmarried women don’t seem to have the same kick in the pants.

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.28.30 AM

A whopping 23% have raided their retirement accounts for present day needs/wants.

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.37.34 AM

I think the biggest threat to retirement in America is people simply burying their heads in the sand.  They know that it is a problem, but it is easier to kick the can down the road instead of dealing with it right now.  The problem is that developing a solid retirement takes time!  Kicking the can down the road isn’t the answer!

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.40.27 AM

What can be done to help avert a retirement crisis?  Enroll in your employers 401k plan and/or setup an IRA.  Workers enrolled in a plan had significantly more saved than workers not enrolled.  Paying yourself first works!

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 11.48.37 AM

Posted in: Finance Tagged: forecast, retirement, survey

Recent Posts

  • Min/Maxing Car Sale for Highest Value and Lowest Headache
  • Buying a Car with Data Driven Decision Making
  • Hot Lunch
  • Baking with Dad
  • Winter Nights

Financial Goals

Recent Comments

  • Heather Tate on Fixing a Slow-Draining Maytag Maxima Washer
  • jeff on Building a Self Watering Raised Garden Bed
  • Paula on Removing Ads from Words with Friends Permanently
  • xsylum on Removing Ads from Words with Friends Permanently
  • Baby Furniture Woodworking Plans - Woodworking Ideas on Building a Changing Table

Archives

  • December 2020
  • December 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013

Categories

  • Business
  • DIY
  • Finance
  • Frugal Boy
  • Frugal Girl
  • House
  • Misc.
  • Parenting
  • Reading
  • Recipes
  • Savings
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2021 Frugal Living.

Omega WordPress Theme by ThemeHall