Personal Savings For American's As A Whole

When it comes to the data and methods, this study used the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), which is a repeated survey that includes the information on household income and wealth holdings; the Federal Reserve conducts this survey every three years. To test the hypothesis there are

According to CareerBuilder.com, a whopping 61% of American households lived paycheck to paycheck in 2009. That number is huge, especially since only 49% lived that way in 2008, and only 41% in 2007. Whether it is due to losing one or both household incomes or simply a reduction in the household incomes, the statistic is staggering. With families not able to adequately save for any unexpected expense that may arise, they are finding that more often than not there is more month than money. So what happens when the rent/mortgage payment is due, groceries need to be purchased, and then the car breaks down? For some, a small personal loan at a local bank is all it takes to get back on track. For many though, this isn’t an option, and they

Aging Americans, like other age groups, are feeling the effects of the declining real estate and stock markets, as well as soaring fuel and food prices. Seniors’ economic security will only increase in importance as the U.S. population ages. The nation’s health and social services resources will face unprecedented demand as 75 million people in the baby boomer generation reach retirement age—some with eroded savings and retirement accounts. Aging people of color are more likely than white

The majority of people age 65 or older in the United States are still working in full time positions. This opens the question if they planned for retirement, or what if anything went wrong while working? How do they feel about still having to work? Have they taken proper steps in preparing for retirement? Are they only working to pass time? These are the questions that everyone should be asking themselves about their own retirement plans, and what they have done to financially prepare for that stage in their life.

Costa, D. L. (1998). The evolution of retirement: Summary of a research project. The American Economic Review, 88(2), 232-236. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/233045640?accountid=41759

The Baby-Boom generation is nearing retirement and it is clear that millions of aging Boomers are financially under prepared. Reasons are many - poor savings habits, rising medical costs, the demise of guaranteed corporate pensions, and the dreaded squeeze faced by many: i.e. having to pay college costs for their children, care for their elderly parents, and save for retirement, all at the same time.

In a recent find, the whole financial system that was created to keep the lives of normal everyday citizens like you and I afloat, will be absolutely dismantled by the “Baby Boomers” this age group would have drained almost all of the financial resources available in the Social Security System by the time the 2030’s arrives. With that there will be clouds of doubt cascading upon the lives of everyday middle class Americans moving forward especially with the Millennials, out of all the age groups they are viewed as being less optimistic of the financial future, and who can blame them? As evident in the article written by David Bass “The Millennial Perspective” he noted in a recent Pew Research report that 72 percent of Millennials don't believe

The Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial cross-sectional survey of U.S. families. The study is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board in collaboration with the Department of the Treasury. The survey data include information on family incomes, net worth, balance sheet components, credit use, pensions, income, and demographic characteristics (Bricker, et al., 2014). A strong attempt is made to select families from all economic levels. In addition, information is also included from related surveys of pension providers and the earlier surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Board. Data from the Survey of Consumer Finances is utilized by the Federal Reserve and other branches of the government to conduct analysis. In addition, economic research centers utilize the SCF to conduct scholarly work (Board of Governors, 2014).

Baby Boomers have been one of the most powerful forces in shaping the economic environment and are the wealthiest generation in the United States (Kotler and Armstrong, 2015). “In their early years, “Leading Edge” Boomers enjoyed economic prosperity, and their resulting financial power in their prime years drove rising trends in everything. However, the recessionary years of the early 1970’s also added cautionary realities to their youthful consumption and employment dreams” (“America’s Oldest Boomers”, n.d.). Baby boomers control approximately 70% of the disposable income in the United States, therefore, they are known as being one of the most influential financial forces in the marketplace (“Baby Boomers Report”, 2015). As they reach their

In the book “All Money in the World” by Laura Vanderkam discusses about ways that people get and spend money in their lives and the relative between money and happiness. Each title, the author shows us different ways to use and earn money like getting, spending and sharing. But in chapter 3, “Rethink Retirement” of getting, Laura Vanderkam shows the creative way to approach retirement. There are three of the ways that the author suggests people can rethink and plan for retirement such as saving, making extra, and using time efficiently.

The issues surrounding the system of social security are beginning to form a powder keg that is waiting to explode. Problems that continue to build will only present a greater threat in later years than they do now. The “baby-boomer” generation is too large of a size to be supported by social security with how it is currently structured. If we continue down this path, by the year 2037 Social Security will only be capable of funding seventy-five percent of its obligations (Matthews, NOLO). To solve this issue, we have been presented with multiple proposals from AARP and have chosen three of our favorite ideas to justify changes to Social Security in order to close the funding gap and create overall benefits for future generations to

Americans are overly confident when it comes to finances, yet many Americans do not have a solid financial plan to ensure a financially secure future.

With the workforce in America decreasing due to hard economic times, there is no guarantee the money put into the reserve will sufficiently support a generation when it is time for retirement. Depending on Social Security to support a person financially when ready to retire, will leave that individual in even more of a struggle than the beneficiaries trying to survive in these earlier years of the 21 century. Social Security benefits represent about 41% of the income of the elderly; if there is not enough to support even half of the elderly’s financial needs now, there is no reason a younger person should depend on it alone for retirement (Dewitt, 2010) in the future.

It seems that the authors dispute the efficacy of the interventions that use public and private financial institutions in order to encourage savings among low- and moderate-income households. More specifically, while the existing savings programs are based on the idea that increasing savings will limit people’s borrowing behavior, the current research proves something different. It shows people’s reluctance to draw down their savings even if they maintain accounts labeled for emergency situation (Sussman & O’Brien, 2016). So, it is created a vicious circle. For this reason, the authors suggest that the policies,

The trick to retirement is making the savings and investment part of that formula last as long as you do. “Traditionally, experts have advised you to invest your savings in stocks and bonds, with the ratio of stocks to bonds gradually decreasing as you get older. The rule of thumb was to have 65% of your investment dollars in bonds by your 65th birthday.” (aol.sageonline.com) This rule of thumb has changed recently in order to take into account the increase in life expectancy. Now that your retirement money has to last longer, the experts are beginning to lean toward investing more of your money in the stock market and keeping it there further into retirement than you normally would. The most important notion that retirees must learn is that the longer you can go without dipping into your principal, the longer your money will last for you due to the rule of compounding of interest. There are numerous different techniques for people to use in order to retire comfortably and remain comfortable until their deaths. Since deciding how much money you need for retirement is obviously a highly personal calculation, individuals must explore the many different instruments for retirement. So how should people invest today for the future and their retirement?