Sep 14, 2019

Even baby boomers are way behind on retirement savings

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets

A survey from Clever Real Estate finds that even baby boomers who are nearing retirement have only saved about 30% of the recommended amount, and the average boomer is about $320,000 shy of the income level financial advisers like Fidelity recommend, based on their average salary.

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Reproduced from Clever; Chart: Axios Visuals

Why it matters: Public pension funds are underfunded by trillions of dollars, which is a problem for the states that have guaranteed them, but data shows most Americans have badly underinvested in their own retirement funds as well.

  • "Fidelity's rule of thumb: Aim to save at least 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, and 10x by 67."

Worse, data shows many boomers don't have any emergency savings. The study finds:

  • 40% of baby boomers are still paying off credit card debt. 
  • 59% of baby boomers believe Social Security will be a major source of income in retirement.
  • Baby boomers in the study planned to retire by 68, but generally lack the savings to realistically do so.

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