Data & Research January 23, 2019

Baby Boomers Far More Confident About Retirement Than Gen X

Three-quarters of Baby Boomers think they will have enough money to live comfortably during retirement, but only 35% of Gen Xers share this optimism.

Reported by

Seventy-five percent of Baby Boomers think they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, but this is true for only 35% of Gen X, according to a new report from Retirement Living, “Retirement Preparedness Study 2019: Baby Boomers vs. Generation X.”

Boomers are relying primarily on pensions and 401(k) plans, while Gen Xers are relying on 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Both Boomers and Gen Xers are relying or expect to rely on Social Security for a portion of their monthly income. Seventy-three percent of Boomers rely on Social Security for 25% to 100% of their monthly income—and 85% of Gen X’ers expect to do the same.

Fifty percent of Boomers and Gen Xers have saved or are on track to save $700,000 or less. Generally, Boomers think that is adequate savings, while Gen Xers do not.

The survey found 65% of Boomers saving for retirement are men and 35% are female. Among Gen X, this is evenly split at 50% for each sex.

Boomers, when asked that they would have done differently with regards to their retirement savings, say investing differently or playing the stock market better, reducing spending and living on a budget, and investing more in a Roth IRA rather than a traditional IRA.

Among the 14% of pre-retirees not saving for retirement, stagnant wages, student loan debt and the cost of living were cited as reasons.

Retirement Living’s findings are based on a survey of 562 adults. More about the study may be found here.


For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

Compliance January 22, 2019

Bill Would Allow Retirement Plan Withdrawals for Federal Employees Affected by Shutdown

Federal employees and contractors would be able to take retirement account distributions without penalty and be able to repay the distributions to their accounts.

Reported by

Members of the House of Representatives have introduced a bill to provide relief to federal employees affected by the partial government shutdown, H.R. 545, the Financial Relief for Feds Act.

The bill would allow furloughed federal employees, “essential” federal employees working without pay and contractors whose sole source of earned income is their federal contract to make a withdrawal from their retirement savings accounts without the 10% penalty that normally applies. That includes not only the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) but also accounts such as IRAs.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

There would be no limit to the number of distributions made to an individual and each distribution would be $4,000, multiplied by the number of 14-day periods beginning during any Federal appropriations lapse with respect to such individual.

In addition, any individual who receives a Federal Government shutdown distribution may, at any time during the 3-year period beginning on the day after the date on which such distribution was received, make one or more contributions in an aggregate amount not to exceed the amount of such distribution to an eligible retirement plan of which such individual is a beneficiary and to which a rollover contribution of such distribution could be made under sections 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(d)(3), or 457(e)(16), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. These repayments of distributions would be treated as eligible rollovers.

The bill has been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

«