Recession Pressures More to Plan Retirement Spending Cutbacks

September 8, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The nation's ongoing financial difficulties prompted 37% of working Americans in a recent poll to predict the recession would force them to constrict their retirement spending.

A Schwab news release said 44 million women versus 38 million men are planning to be more mindful of their retirement spending than they were before the current unstable economy. Also, on average, men have secured more funds for their golden years than women ($247,000 vs. $180,000).

Findings also show a consistent lack of savings among pre-retirees. The average respondents have put away for retirement is $219,000, which is nearly $1,800,000 less than most commonly believe they will need to retire comfortably, Schwab said.

The poll also picked up significant indications of the growing phased retirement trend, with 35% of workers planning to delay their retirement milestone. Not only that, almost one in five (17%) retired Americans are considering returning to work at least part-time due to the economy.

Meanwhile, according to Schawb, some 44% of retirees said they support a family member financially, with 53% specifying such monetary aid going to children and 37% to grandchildren. In addition,12% of those rendering family members financial aid said they contributed cash to help their parents’ finances.

“Whether it’s their children, grandchildren or their own parents, more and more retirees are finding themselves supporting family members and, simultaneously, witnessing portions of their hard-earned savings disappear,” said Mark Jamison, vice president at Charles Schwab, in the news release. “This is just the sort of retirement reality that we really encourage clients to prepare for – the unexpected.”

More information is available at www.schwab.com/RealLifeRetirement .

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