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Will You Have Enough Money to Retire ‘Comfortably’?

By Catherine Rampell , The New-York Time

April 20, 2009

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Probably not, if a recent Gallup poll is any indication.

Gallup surveyed not-yet-retired Americans and asked them if they anticipated having enough money to retire “comfortably” when the time came. And for the first time this decade, the majority said they doubted they would have enough saved up to live comfortably when they retire. 

The reasons for this pessimism are evident when you look at Gallup’s other questions regarding what sources of income Americans count as their primary financial cushions. 
In 2009, the percent of people who said they would rely on home equity or on retirement accounts as a “major source of income” declined, while the percentage of people who said they would rely on part-time work as a “major source of income” increased slightly. (Those who say they plan to rely largely on part-time work has been increasing for most of this decade, though. In 2001, 10 percent of respondents said part-time work would be a major source of retirement income; that percentage has more than doubled to 22 percent today.)

Of course, exactly what it means to retire “comfortably” has probably changed over the years. (Gallup, unfortunately, did not ask Americans how much money they would need to retire comfortably, just whether they expected to have enough income to meet the goal.) I bet expectations for the amount needed for comfortable retirement have changed even in the last 10 years — though I’m not sure which direction they may be heading. 

On the one hand, standards of living have increased, so expectations for the lifestyle that retirees are entitled too have probably risen. On the other hand, perhaps this recession is acclimating Americans to the idea of spending much less than they have been, which may in turn reduce how much income they expect to need in retirement.

 


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