Retirement at risk! Half of Americans won’t be able to afford their standard of living

Savings for retirement.

Half of households will not be able to maintain their standard of living when they retire, according to the latest findings of the National Retirement Risk Index from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

“The National Retirement Risk Index: Version 2.0” measures the share of working-age households that qualify as being at risk of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standing of living once they retire. The index is measured by comparing households’ projected replacement rates, which is their retirement income as a percentage of pre-retirement income, versus the target rates that would allow them to maintain their living standard. Approximately half of the nation’s working-age households currently are at risk of falling short of maintaining their standard of living even if they work to age 65 and annuitize all their assets, including receipts from a reverse mortgage on their home, according to the index.