Can Americans count on the Social Security privatization plan to boost their savings?
No. It’s actually a distraction from real retirement planning. Squeezing extra returns from your government benefits — the average payout for retirees currently is just $958/month — is not going to enable you to retire comfortably. That will happen only if you make saving an everyday priority. How much do you put away? I have been worrying about my retirement since I was 13. I’m 60 now, and although I expect a modest pension from the Screen Actors Guild, I’m also trying to save very aggressively on my own — about 20% of my annual income. Few people can afford to save that much. How can the average person squirrel away more money? Look, people in China, which has only 14% the gross domestic product per capita that we have, save 40% of their incomes. Americans save roughly 1%, so we can do a lot better. A clear-cut goal makes it easier to deprive yourself of indulgences. You can calculate how much you will need in retirement at the AARP Web site, www.aarp.org/money/financial_planning. Be
Related Questions
- Does the change in the AEP Retirement Savings Plan service provider apply to the non-qualified plans, including the supplemental savings plan and the deferred income plan?
- Can Americans count on the Social Security privatization plan to boost their savings?
- What is meant by privatization of Social Security? What is the definition?
