Where does the blame lie? At least part of it can be laid at the feet of 401(k)s. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Lots of Americans approach fearsome problems by throwing money at them—such as climate change (think survivalism supplies) and wellness (think everything from FitBits to vitamin water to young blood).
But when it comes to retirement, not so much. Headlines abound about how ill-prepared Americans are financially to retire, but they're not throwing as much money at that particular problem.
That's according to a study from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, which found that nearly three-fourths of American workers with defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s are not putting enough into retirement savings to maintain their standard of living later in life.
The study assumed that, contrary to what most studies assume, people aren't making rational choices when it comes to finance. The premise of the research was to understand how people with specific characteristics tended to save over time.
Enrichetta Ravina, visiting associate professor of finance at Kellogg, is quoted saying, putting it this way: “If people behave like the average person in their demographic going forward, what is the chance that they will have enough money for retirement?”
The chance is not good. Calculating workers' lifestyle prior to retirement, researchers then estimated their annual spending level based on their age and salary. They found that only about one out of four actually saved enough money to maintain their current standard of living once they hit retirement.
In fact, those who ended up with the most money were dependent on their employers more than their own behavior—they “tended to be employed by companies that were older and private, possibly because these companies also tend to be more established and have higher profits on average,” the report said. It added that “workers tended to fare better when they had worked for companies that paid higher salaries and offered more retirement matching.”
Slow and steady also played a role, they found – a single percentage point increase in a worker's contribution rate increased what they'd have at 65 by more than $30,000.
Where does the blame lie? At least part of it can be laid at the feet of 401(k)s, with the report quoting Ravina saying that because of the shift away from defined benefit plans, “People who have low financial literacy or don't think a lot about the future end up falling short. Defined contribution plans open up that possibility.”
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
