Get more! Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.
Benefits December 6, 2001
Americans Not Equipped for Rainy Days
December 6, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - With the number
of the unemployed continuing to rise as companies cut back to
weather the first recession in over a decade, a survey finds
that 41% of Americans do not have an emergency fund to cover
three to six months of expenses.
Reported by Camilla Klein
This translates to 71 million Americans who do not have such a fund, according to a poll by Fidelity Investments.
Asked to list the sources that they’d tap in emergencies, those without rainy day funds cited:
· borrowing from family and friends,
· savings account, and
· a loan or distribution from workplace savings
account or IRA.
While 92% of retirement plan participants know that there are taxes and penalties associated with early withdrawals, 54% don’t know that they could lose up to 46% of a distribution taken before age 59 1/2 to penalties and taxes.
The poll also found that three out of five American heads of households and/or their partners have either a workplace retirement savings plan or IRA or both,
· over a third have an IRA, and
· some 46% have an employer-sponsored retirement
plan
The telephone survey comprised the responses of 888 heads of households aged 18 and older, living in private households in the continental US. Interviews were completed November 16-19, 2001.
« Ex-Texas Execs Offer Plan Sponsor Expertise, Access to Private Equity