The very existence of separate rainy-day accounts enforces discipline in recognizing what savings can and can't do. (Image: Shutterstock)
People are having a tough time saving—for health care, for retirement, for emergencies—especially since so many are living paycheck to paycheck and bending under the weight of student debt, credit cards and other financial obligations.
Retirement in particular is endangered by employees' failure to save, since in times of financial trouble they tend to turn to their retirement accounts (if they have any) for a financial bailout. In fact, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, for every dollar that manages to make it into a 401(k) or similar account, between thirty and forty cents "leaks out before retirement."
And that amount doesn't include loans people take to bail themselves out that they actually manage to repay.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
