Fact Sheet: New Retirees Have Inadequate Retirement Account Balances
Authors: Joelle Saad-Lessler and Teresa Ghilarducci
Date: August 2013
This fact sheet provides documentation and analysis on retirement account balances of near retirees based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation. The analysis reveals that 59 million Americans ages 50-64 in 2011 will not have enough retirement assets to maintain their standard of living when they retire. Three-fourths of near retirees have annual incomes below $52,536 per year and their average retirement account balance is $27,207. Furthermore, the median value of retirement account balances for half of near retirees is zero, showing that half of older working Americans have absolutely no retirement savings. These facts - coupled with a weakening labor market, especially for older workers - documents the growing trend toward a retirement income security crisis.