The idea is circulating in D.C. that the tax breaks associated with 401(k) savings should be curtailed. As our representatives look for ways to adjust taxes, that idea is still on the table.
Most Americans facing retirement become painfully aware that they will need a substantial amount of savings as well as Social Security payments to get by. The cost of health care is a bug-a-boo for too many as they age and general inflation takes a swath out anything that is set aside for the future. Here are some things to consider:
About half of Americans have a retirement account such as a 401(k) provided by an employer or and Individual Retirement Account (IRA), according to the Federal Reserve.
Not all jobs offer the 402(k) option. Only 35 percent of low-income working households have the job savings plan or anything similar that automatically sets money aside for retirement. For high-income households, the figure is about 80 percent, according to a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The average savings of most households that have a savings account is $60,000, but there is a wide range on both sides of the average. The typical household headed by someone under 35 had savings of only $12,300 last year, if they had savings at all. The savings cushion ranges from $403,000 at the top to a median of $25,000.
Millennials have more tucked away than their parents did at the same age, Compared with 1989, when a family headed by someone under 35 had just $7,500, today’s family in the same age group has $12,300, after accounting for inflation.
The age at which individuals can qualify for Social Security is rising. Sixty-six is now the threshold for receiving full retirement benefits. The figure is slated to go up slowly until it hits age 67 for those born in 1955.
The average life span is increasing. A woman at 65 can expect, on average, to live another 20.6 years. For men, the figure is 18 years. Retirement income has to last longer for most Americans.
Projections for health care costs are scary. A 65-year-old couple will need some $275,000 to cover medical needs through retirement, according to Fidelity. That doesn’t take into account nursing home or long-term care if necessary.
Fewer companies are offering formal retirement plans for employees. Only 13 percent of private-sector workers were enrolled in such a plan in 2014, says the Employee Benefit Research Institute. In 1979, the figure was about triple that number at 38 percent.
All of these factors suggest a more careful analysis of your prospective retirement income, with adjustments if necessary.