Are Americans ready to retire? No!

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This research paper address the question: Are Americans ready to retire? No! Americans are not only not ready to retire, they are not confident in how much they have saved for their retirement years. There are several reasons for this lack of confidence. According to a recent study by the Metlife Mature Market Institute, more than half of adults age 45 to 70 nationwide (a full 53%) say they are behind in their retirement goals. The study also found that 13% of those who polled have no retirement goals and 7% have not yet begun to save money. The lack of knowledge of the stock market and lack of funds to save, factors into this passive approach. Most Americans are not familiar with investment options within retirement plans and either choose not to participate in their employer’s plan or contribute a low amount that will not meet their retirement needs. A solution would be to sit down and prepare a retirement calculation to figure out how much funds would be needed for their retirement years, including the possible high cost of medical needs.

The majority of American workers in this country are not prepared for retirement. According to the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, the percentage of workers who can say they are very confident about having enough money to pay for their basic expenses during their retirement years increased from 25% to 29% in 2009. However the percentage of those workers who are not confident remained at 25%. According to the survey, the percentage of workers who are not too (or not at all) confident about being able to cover long-term medical and long-term care expenses has increased. According to this study, 51% of workers say they are not confident about having enough retirement money to pay for the...

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The conclusion is that even though the majority of American workers are not financially ready for retirement due to the difficult economic times, there are several steps that we can take that will begin to prepare us for long-term retirement goals. We can evaluate our family health history and create a savings plan based on possible, future health issues. We can purchase MediGap Health insurance to address those future health issues. The American worker can choose to contribute not only to their employer-sponsored plans but to a Traditional or Roth IRA. We can also choose to purchase a Private Retirement Account that has guaranteed contracts. Employers can create retirement training seminars for their employees. By taking an active approach to their retirement, workers will increase their confidence and begin to manage their long-term retirement goals.

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