A new survey finds that while many don’t know how much they have saved, and fewer know how much they will need, their estimates of need seem pretty optimistic.
Nearly half (46%) know how much they have saved in their retirement account, and even less (35%) know how much income they’ll have each month in retirement. Despite that, nearly two-thirds (63%) estimate that they will need less than 75% of their current income to live comfortably in retirement.
According to the TIAA 2016 Lifetime Income Survey, more than half (58%) of American adults feel confident they can successfully turn their retirement savings into income after they stop working, and only about a third (35%) of survey respondents are concerned about running out of money in retirement.
Twice as many respondents (62%) would prefer to access a lifetime income option offered by their employer than those who would prefer to purchase it themselves (31%).
Monthly Mien
Only 33% say they have a retirement plan with an option for a monthly income payment, while 56% of those whose retirement plan does not offer or who do not know if their plan offers this kind of option say they would be interested in a retirement plan that does.
Only 43% are willing to commit a portion of their retirement savings to a choice that would allow them to receive a monthly payment for life.
There was a significant gap between the percentage of people in the higher income bracket who know how much they have in their retirement savings (where 70% know exactly or approximately how much) and the percentage of people in the lower bracket (29%). However, that gap narrowed when the researchers asked if they knew how much income they would get each month in retirement: 45% of those in the higher bracket knew exactly or approximately, compared with 27% of those in the lower bracket.
Other highlights:
- 41% are saving 10% or less of their income for retirement
- 28% of respondents who are not retired are not saving anything for retirement
- 47% of those not saving are worried about not having enough money in retirement
- 49% say that their retirement plan’s No. 1 goal should be to provide guaranteed
monthly income in retirement - 41% are unsure if their current plan provides an option for lifetime income
Only 28% of those who have analyzed how their savings will translate into retirement income are concerned about running out of money after they stop working, as opposed to 40% of those who have not done the analysis.
