Prepare for a Gruesome Retirement
The Motley Fool, August 28th, 2007
It's time for some tough love. After all, I want you to have a
comfortable retirement doing things that you enjoy and have always
desired. That may mean dining in fine restaurants, traveling to the
Galapagos Islands to see blue-footed boobies, or taking your
grandchildren to Hershey, Pa., to eat chocolate to their hearts'
content -- then coming home from these activities to your spiffy
retirement community.
But, judging from some startling statistics I discovered, you're in
danger of a retirement that's quite the opposite. Picture dining on
Salisbury steak TV dinners, traveling to the Git'n'Go down the street
for a bag of chips, and taking your grandchildren to the Salvation Army
as you shop for some new clothes -- all while living in a relative's
damp basement.
The facts
According
to the 2006 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), we can be confident
that many people will have gruesome retirements. In fact, according to
a separate survey, 31% of Americans would rather scrub a bathroom
than plan for retirement. Rest assured: If you've been putting off
planning for your retirement, you're not alone. (I can't speak for the
scrubbing thing.)
Check out the numbers from the RCS. They reflect the total savings
and investments (not including the value of the primary residence) of
today's workers, broken down by age group:
Read more of this article.NewRetirement Retirement Calculator: Assess your retirement plan with the NewRetirement Retirement Calculator.