Have Your Clients Really Saved Enough for Retirement?
Not long after a news report that the national savings rate for all of 2006 was a negative 1 percent, new research came out that suggested many Americans are well prepared for their golden years.
The personal savings rate does not reflect increases in the value of assets such as houses, said economist John Karl Scholz, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
“This doesn't necessarily imply that people are plunging headlong into debt and the like," he told the Wisconsin State Journal. "I think there is a fair amount of evidence that most people are preparing perfectly adequately for retirement."
Scholz studied people born between 1931 and 1941 and found that at least 80 percent had saved enough. “People are extremely anxious about doing enough” to save, he told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s possible that anxiety is misplaced.”
David Love, an economics professor at Williams College, concluded in a separate study that most Americans will have enough for retirement based on his look at the combined assets of those age 51 and older. Assets included stocks, bonds, Social Security and housing.
But the research is not dampening the alarm many finance experts feel about how much money Americans are spending. When the Commerce Department reported that Americans are spending all of their money left after taxes, and then some, it was the worst showing in 73 years.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole warned in a recent speech that people have too much credit-card debt and not enough assets: "Many households would be much better off if they had consumed less and accumulated more wealth during their working years."
And few financial advisers are telling their clients to relax about saving for retirement. They say that unlike the older people that were the focus of recent research, younger Americans will not have the same level of pensions or retiree health-care benefits. Social Security will most likely be unavailable until an older age than their parents or grandparents.
Financial planner Mary Malgoire of Bethesda, Md., told the Baltimore Sun that it makes her angry to suggest people are saving too much for retirement. "Americans generally are not saving enough. Baby boomers are overspending hand over fist."
Number of comments: 2
AccountingWEB.com Feb-23-2007
Categories: 401(k), Social Security/Medicare, Personal Finance, Financial Planning, Retirement, News Archives
Times read: 3283
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Bruce Sankin , Feb-28-2007
Financial helpcenters I read your article and I want to give you the following information.
First here is my background. I am a financial author and columnist. I am also an arbitrator and mediator for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and a consumer advocate for investor education.
Because of my background I have been contacted by many people who are 401k and 403b plan participants who are preparing for retirement. They have told me their companies only give them limited information and never explain their rights in case of a problem or dispute. Their company also never explains what they really need to do to prepare for retirement.
I created ‘helpcenters’ websites to help investors educate themselves on the right questions to ask a financial professional.
The main website: www.financialhelpcenters.com From this website you can link to the other investor educational websites: www.403bhelpcenters.com www.retirementhelpcenters.com www.irahelpcenters.com www.mutualfundhelpcenters.com www.annuityhelpcenters.com www.401khelpcenters.com
All these websites give basic investor educational material on each subject. They can also download the book for free.
My book “What All Stock and Mutual Fund Investors Should Know!” is used by State Regulatory Agencies, Attorney Generals office, as investor educational material for employees and residents.
My book has been endorsed or reviewed by NBC, CNBC, Money Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Consumer Digest, National Center for Women and Retirement Research, American Association of Individual Investors (AAII), American Library Association, and many others.
My book is available for free to every person who visits the ‘helpcenters’ websites.
I also want to let you know that the State of Illinois Secretary of State has purchased my book and make it available to all their employees and residents. It educates them on their rights as investors.
Please let your readers know these investor educational websites. Thank you. Bruce Sankin |
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Firozali A Mulla , Feb-24-2007
Have Your Clients Really Saved Enough for Retirement? A very dicey question when the money simply vanishes away. Let me explain. In 1972 my friend came happily into my office then PriceWaterhouseCoopers and stated that his insurance policy was maturing after two day. He seemed happy. We were pleased that our friend will get the good sum and we will have a big bang out of this. When next we saw him, we asked how much had he got? His answer " shs 2000, 00 the salary of one month of an employee those days. The policy was made in 1950s when his father thought that the sum 2,000.00 would be a fortune and the son would retire in a mansion with the cars in the parking lot and butlers ringing the bell" Dinner is ready sir". It was irony. But goes to show that this is very fluid assumption. No one tell what you will have and what you will do with this. Times dilute the real value of money |
