Slightly more detailed info on how much American retirees have saved...

A snippet or summary would be nice. :)
 
The 59% who have saved
The financial situation of this group was a much wider range, with 7% having less than $10,000 and 9% have more than a half-million dollars. Of this group:

  • The median net worth per household is $337,000.
  • 87% are homeowners, but only 27% own their home outright.
  • 45% have a defined benefit plan.

For those who are competitive, the authors also took into account all of the households with some retirement savings, and broke them down into percentiles. As a refresher, being in the 10th percentile means you have a nest egg bigger than 10% of all those with some saved up; the 90th percentile means you have more than 90% of those with some savings.

Here's how it all shook out.
Click to expand...


screen-shot-2016-02-19-at-100004-am_large.png
 
Slightly more detailed info on the how much does America retirees have saved...

MichaelB. That is a lot to ask of someone posting on treadmill! Witness bad grammar in title!


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The title is inaccurate. The average is not the median. $106,000 is the median.
 
Thanks, LARS. Interesting piece.

Rounding from the table in that article, and including the roughly 40% who have no "retirement savings," [roughly] indicates that having 106,113 in "retirement savings" put you in at the 70th percentile of all people age 55 to 64. (Note that the GAO report distinguished between retirement savings and non-retirement savings.)

Yet more proof that the demographics of the active posters here and on Bogleheads are not quite representative of the population at large.

But we all kind of knew that....
 
The way I see this, at least 3/4 of the population of imminent retirees don't have much, if any, retirement savings. We of this forum would like to think that this is not our problem. For a while, I think it is unlikely to be our problem. However, eventually, if there is some sort of Arab spring here, it might become our problem. I hope it doesn't come to that.

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LARS said:
MichaelB. That is a lot to ask of someone posting on treadmill! Witness bad grammar in title!
Click to expand...
I fixed the grammar, I think? If it isn't what you meant to say, then just contact me or any mod or admin and we can change it to what you meant.
 
Oh, The Motley Fool. They keep sending me e-mails telling me that I have until midnight to sign up for their latest investment newsletter/scheme at an outrageously low introductory price. Then the next day, they send another e-mail extending the offer again, until midnight again. Then, amazingly, they extend the offer once more, for one last time.

Then a week or so later, the whole shenanigans begin all over again :facepalm:
 
OrcasIslandBound said:
The way I see this, at least 3/4 of the population of imminent retirees don't have much, if any, retirement savings. We of this forum would like to think that this is not our problem. For a while, I think it is unlikely to be our problem. However, eventually, if there is some sort of Arab spring here, it might become our problem. I hope it doesn't come to that. ....
Click to expand...

Yes, sort of in line with television and audiences rewarding poor choices like Biggest losers, hoarders, We owe What, type of television.

Spend, don't save, and when you retire the gov't will fix it for you :facepalm:

Lack of personal responsibility..
 
Sunset, bailing out the people who haven't bothered to save wasn't even remotely what I was thinking. More like the DW and I will finally have to get around to learning more about what everyone else is talking about regarding 2nd amendment rights and take self defense classes. Get to know the neighbors, etc. I think this is called "prepping".

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
 
Note this information is based on survey taken by our Federal Government. I'd guess most of us have a certain amount of distrust in our government, and those that have saved diligently have probably low-balled their reported retirement savings. Anyone can lie on a survey. I put more faith in the 401K/IRA retirement saving account numbers reported by Fidelity.
 
W2R said:
I fixed the grammar, I think? If it isn't what you meant to say, then just contact me or any mod or admin and we can change it to what you meant.
Click to expand...


Yes. Thank you.


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OrcasIslandBound said:
The way I see this, at least 3/4 of the population of imminent retirees don't have much, if any, retirement savings. We of this forum would like to think that this is not our problem. For a while, I think it is unlikely to be our problem. However, eventually, if there is some sort of Arab spring here, it might become our problem. I hope it doesn't come to that.
Click to expand...

If we end up in some kind of violent revolution then it will suck for everyone - an even better argument to enjoy ER now while we can.
 
Al18 said:
Note this information is based on survey taken by our Federal Government. I'd guess most of us have a certain amount of distrust in our government...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't just make this as a blanket assertion. I think one's level of trust/distrust in gov't figures depends a lot on one's political persuasion.
 
stepford said:
If we end up in some kind of violent revolution then it will suck for everyone - an even better argument to enjoy ER now while we can.
Click to expand...


You know I can see many very serious problems on the horizon for America. Indeed, if I let my Investment Banker trained mind run free, I can envision a complete meltdown of the financial system, but even in that instance I find it hard to see a violent revolution. Too much physical force is concentrated in the hands of the federal and state authorities for that to happen: and, the tradition of law and order runs very deep in the fabric of America. Just my opinion.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
Al18 said:
Anyone can lie on a survey. I put more faith in the 401K/IRA retirement saving account numbers reported by Fidelity.
Click to expand...

I do too, but only with the realization that "account value" is less than "amount of retirement savings". Account value skews low because many people have multiple accounts. How many retirement accounts do people have on average? That's a number I've not seen accompanying results of such reports.
 
GrayHare said:
I do too, but only with the realization that "account value" is less than "amount of retirement savings". Account value skews low because many people have multiple accounts. How many retirement accounts do people have on average? That's a number I've not seen accompanying results of such reports.
Click to expand...


Good point. I seriously doubt those gathering data from account numbers apply due diligence to acknowledge the fact that, for example, DW and I hold three IRAs, two 403b accts, a brokerage acct, and a defined contribution retirement account. That's seven investment/retirement accts for two individuals, each of which individually would paint a much different picture than the aggregate.
 
As I grow older I have become more trusting of govt. It's the population I have lost faith in.
 
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