When Can You Retire?

Here are some interesting facts about Social Security and saving for retirement that we thought you would find interesting as you file your taxes this year.

• “By 2037, all the social security reserves will have been drained and the income flowing into the program will be only enough to pay 75% of the schedule benefits. If that sounds tolerable, consider that two-thirds of seniors rely on Social Security as their main source of income. The average annual benefit is $14,000.” – Washington Post
• “Nearly eight in ten small business owners prior to the reces-sion in 2007 thought they would have enough money to live comfortably when they retire. By 2010, fewer than two in three felt this way.” – Dennis Jacobe, gallup.com
• “The average life expectancy was only 63 years when Social Security was first created, and there were 40 workers support-ing each retiree. We now have about 3.1 workers for each re-tiree. And by the time I reach my mid-60s, there will be about two workers supporting me – and I don’t think they’re going to want to do that.” – Ken Dychtwald, New York Times
• “56% of retirees had outstanding debt when they left the workforce, and 96% refused to delay retirement because of the outstanding debt. In addition, 59% had saved less than $50,000 towards retirement.” – Survey, nonprofit CESI Debt Solutions