Benefits July 20, 2010

Length in Retirement Plan Affects GenX Retirement Readiness

July 20, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - For Gen Xers (those currently ages 36–45), how long they are eligible to participate in a defined contribution (401(k)-type) retirement plan can make a big difference in whether they will have enough money to last through retirement, according to the non-partisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.
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The 2010 EBRI Retirement Readiness Rating shows a 40-percentage-point drop in being “at risk” or running short of money in retirement, based on whether a Gen Xer will never be eligible to participate in defined contribution plan, versus whether they have 20 or more years of eligibility.  

An EBRI Fast Facts said those with no future years of eligibility have an “at-risk” level of 60%, compared with only 20% for those with 20 or more years of eligibility in a defined contribution retirement plan.  

Even for Early Baby Boomers (those currently ages 56–62) and Late Boomers (those currently ages 46-55), future eligibility in a defined contribution plan still makes a large difference in at-risk levels for these age groups. The at-risk level for Early Boomers with no future years of eligibility is 54% compared with 38% for those with one to nine years of eligibility left, and the at-risk level for Late Boomers with no future years of eligibility is 53%, compared with only 27% for those with 10 to 19 years of eligibility left.  

The full results of the EBRI Retirement Readiness Rating are published in the July 2010 EBRI Issue Brief at http://www.ebri.org.

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