Boomer Retirements at Increased Risk

The Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College has released a new brief that finds Baby Boomers are even more at risk of not being prepared for retirement than was previously thought. Based on the Federal Reserve's 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), which looks at household wealth every three years, the brief finds the following:

•the wealth-to-income ratio for 2010 was significantly lower as compared to prior survey years, covering the period 1983-2010
•people need higher incomes in retirement due to increased life expectancies, the shift to 401(k) plans, increased health costs, and lower real interest rates

According to the report's author, Alicia Munnell, Director of the CRR, "the sharp drop in the ratio of wealth to income for each age group in the 2010 survey is particularly alarming."

The full issue brief is available on the CRR website at http://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IB_12-15.pdf