With millions of baby boomers poised to exit the workforce, securing a safe retirement is emerging as a significant national challenge. Experts estimate that a couple earning $45,000 per year will need nearly $200,000 in savings plus Social Security to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Moreover, nearly one out of every two workers — 75 million working Americans — has no employer-provided retirement plan. Of those who are eligible to participate in a 401(k) plan, 21 percent fail to do so; less than 10 percent of those who do participate contribute the maximum amount; and more than half of all participants fail to diversify their investments. The Pew Charitable Trusts aims to ease the burden of retirement on American families by working to promote policies and programs that encourage saving.
Pew is no longer active in this line of work, but for more information visit the Retirement Security Project on PewHealth.org.