The Median Retirement Savings Balance Among Baby Boomers Is Shockingly Low
Baby boomers may be gearing up to leave the workforce in the near term, but they may not be financially prepared to do so. The median savings balance among baby boomers is a mere $144,000, according to a recent Transamerica survey, and while boomers have more money socked away for retirement than millennials and Gen Xers combined (based on median balances), they still have a fair amount of work to do.
The average senior on Social Security today collects roughly $18,000 a year in benefits. Meanwhile, U.S. adults aged 65 and over spend about $46,000 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That leaves a $28,000 shortfall if we go by these averages, and that's where savings coming in.
But a $144,000 retirement savings balance won't come anywhere close to bridging that gap. If we use the 4% rule to dictate our withdrawal rate, we're left with $5,760 a year of income. Combined with about $18,000 in Social Security, that's less than $2,000 a month to spend.
Source Fool.com
