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Do Newly Retired Workers in the United States Have Sufficient Resources to Maintain Well-Being?

Author

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  • Robert Haveman
  • Karen Holden
  • Barbara Wolfe
  • Shane Sherlund

Abstract

A current policy issue is the extent to which savings are sufficient to sustain economic well-being in retirement. We compare annuitized wealth at retirement to three preretirement consumption estimates. About one-half of new retirees have insufficient resources to enable the full maintenance of estimated preretirement consumption in retirement, and about 40% fail to meet the "0.7 of earnings" standard that is used in many studies. Using standards reflecting social (poverty) norms we find a less serious problem. About 5% (25%) of new retirees have insufficient resources to enable an above-poverty (near-poverty) level of living during retirement. (JEL J14, J26) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Haveman & Karen Holden & Barbara Wolfe & Shane Sherlund, 2006. "Do Newly Retired Workers in the United States Have Sufficient Resources to Maintain Well-Being?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 44(2), pages 249-264, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecinqu:v:44:y:2006:i:2:p:249-264
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ei/cbj023
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Karen Smith & Mauricio Soto & Rudolph G. Penner, 2009. "How Seniors Change Their Asset Holdings During Retirement," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2009-31, Center for Retirement Research, revised Dec 2009.
    2. Love, David A. & Palumbo, Michael G. & Smith, Paul A., 2009. "The trajectory of wealth in retirement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 191-208, February.
    3. Xiaobo Xu & Martin Young & Liping Zou & Jiali Fang, 2023. "Retirement Income and Financial Market Participation in New Zealand," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-23, January.
    4. David A. Love & Paul A. Smith & Lucy C. McNair, 2008. "A New Look At The Wealth Adequacy Of Older U.S. Households," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 54(4), pages 616-642, December.
    5. Jim Been & Michael Hurd & Susann Rohwedder, 2014. "Responses of Time-use to Shocks in Wealth during the Great Recession," Working Papers wp313, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    6. Hugo Benitez-Silva & Na Yin, 2007. "An Empirical Study of the Effects of Social Security Reforms on Claming Behavior and Benefits Receipt Using Aggregate and Public-Use Administrative Micro Data," Department of Economics Working Papers 07-05, Stony Brook University, Department of Economics.
    7. Marilyn Clark-Murphy & Paul Gerrans & Craig Speelman, 2009. "Return Chasing as a Driver in Individual Retirement Savings Investment Choices: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 4-19, March.
    8. Elsa Fornero & Annamaria Lusardi & Chiara Monticone, 2009. "Adequacy of Saving for Old Age in Europe," CeRP Working Papers 87, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    9. Jeffrey Thompson & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2010. "Recent Trends in the Distribution of Income: Labor, Wealth and More Complete Measures of Well Being," Working Papers wp225, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    10. Xiaobo Xu & Jiali Fang & Martin Young & Liping Zou, 2024. "The impact of post‐retirement financial market participation on retirement income sufficiency in Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(1), pages 903-939, March.
    11. David Love & Lucie Schmidt, 2015. "Comprehensive Wealth of Immigrants and Natives," Working Papers wp328, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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