How to Weather the Looming Retirement Crisis

As for public opinion, Americans are likewise growing anxious over their retirement prospects. A recent CBS poll showed that although 55 percent of American workers believe they will be ready for retirement once it rolls around, 64 percent are anxious regarding their current savings, and 41 percent don’t think they’ll have enough money. A PBS survey similarly showed that 92 percent of Americans believe there’s a retirement crisis, that more than half of today’s households won’t have enough savings for retirement, and that the number of people who expect to work past age 65 has more than tripled in the last three decades.

Should these predictions prove correct, they could have serious implications for both retirees and workers. “Retirees may have to change their living arrangements and move in with adult children or other families,” said Wuerz. “They may also have to depend more on government assistance, and going back to work is already pretty prevalent. It really could be a compounded effect if people don’t consider a wealth distribution strategy that can last them for the long haul and ride through market fluctuations.”

Fortunately, there are a few steps both current and future retirees can take to ensure they’ll have enough assets to live comfortably for decades to come. “Aside from working longer when possible, they need to build different ‘buckets’ of wealth: short-term, middle-term and long-term investments that can ride through market cycles,” advised Wuerz.

Given the difficulty of maintaining living standards with just a 401k and Social Security, it’s particularly important to set up additional sources of guaranteed income. Annuities, single premium life insurance policies and other guaranteed assets are critical for providing for ongoing expenses – particularly long-term care. “With costs as high as they are, people save their whole lives only to put almost everything towards long-term care,” said Wuerz. “You’ve got to have a backup plan before that happens.”