Most of us are familiar with these statistics...
Out of 100 people who starts working at the age of 25, by the age 65:
* 1% are wealthy
* 4% have adequate capital stowed away for retirement
* 3% are still working
* 63% are dependant on Social Security, friends, relatives or charity.
* 29% are dead.
More Statistics on "The GOLDEN Years"
Retirement by the Governments own statistics:
* The average savings of a 50 year old in the U.S. is $2500.
* 32 Million Americans are currently threatened with bankruptcy.
* More than 1,000,000 [1 Million] filed for bankruptcy in the year
2000.
More Statistics...
Out of every 100 people who reach the retirement age of 65:
* 62 retire with less than $25,000 in assets and depend on Social
Security or family for their retirement.
* Another 35 retire with less than $100,000, have some form of pension
in addition to Social Security and are just making it in their
retirement. If either Social Security or their pension went away they
would have a very difficult time surviving.
* 2 of the 3 remaining retirees have an adequate pension or retirement
account. They have assets of between $100,000 and $750,000. They do
appreciate having the additional money they receive from Social
Security, but could survive without it.
* The last of these 100 retirees, is the only one who is financially
independent. This retiree has assets approaching or exceeding
$1,000,000. They do not need the income from Social Security at all.
Which group above will you be in when it is time for you to retire?
Still More Statistics...
"According to recent Governmental statistics, most people are very
concerned about their financial security in retirement. Over 70%
believe they won't have enough money put away for retirement. Of those
between the ages of 30 and 54, almost 80% feel this way about their
future.
One of the factors is the uncertainty of Social Security. In the mid
1970's, 2/3 of the people surveyed said they were quite confident
Social Security would be there for them when they retired.
In 1980, of those surveyed, 2/3 commented that they were not confident
that Social Security would be there to support them in retirement.
They felt that if Social Security was still a functioning service, it
probably would not be paying an adequate amount to cover a reasonable
standard of living.
So if this is the case... why aren't people socking away hoards of
money so they are not part of the statistics? Well, it seems that
saving for retirement is a difficult task to master for the average
person.
Some have difficulty saving on a systematic basis. With others, it's
often the case of having good intentions but very poor follow-through.
Still others, it's that they make poor selections with the saving and
investment vehicles they choose."
Clearly, the working-class scenario of toiling away building someone
else's empire for forty years, trying to accumulate wealth (money) so
one can retire comfortably, is NOT working. Most people would like to
retire with dignity. Wouldn't you?
Page #2 Retire Before You Die
