Concerning Savings Stats for Retirement

With the possibilities of too much debt, little savings, or stalled wages, Americans fall victim to retirement crises every day. The following statistics may scare you into jumpstarting your financial future. One sickening retirement cost will give you sticker shock.

One in three Americans has no savings  for retirement

More than half of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. A recent survey from GoBankingRates.com found over half of Americans have no more than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 1 in 3 have nothing saved at all. The National Institute on Retirement Security estimates the nation’s retirement savings gap is between $6.8 and $14 trillion.

Women are 27% more likely to have no retirement savings

Women must save 18% while men need to save 10% to reach the same financial level in retirement. The gap between men’s and women’s retirement savings equates to as much as 27%. Nearly two-thirds of women have nothing saved or less than $10,000 in retirement savings, compared to 52% of men. It’s harder for women to save in general, as they make $0.79 for every dollar men make in full-time positions.

76% of baby boomers aren’t confident they’ve savings is enough for retirement

According to a survey by the Insured Retirement Institute, a large majority of baby boomers doubt their financial future. Of those lacking confidence, 68% wish they’d saved more and 67% wish they would’ve started saving earlier. More than half of Baby Boomers said they need Social Security to make it through retirement.

The number of seniors declaring bankruptcy has grown to 7%

Bankruptcy is a horrible position to be in. In 1991, only 2.1% of those filing for bankruptcy were 65 or older. This number climbed to 7% by 2007, a scary number considering the limited options seniors have to make money. The Employee Benefit Research Institute notes “without a job or income stream to convince lenders otherwise, you may have a hard time opening credit cards, securing transportation, or renting a home as a senior.”