Older adults in the United States have life expectancies of as many as 11 years past the number of years that their retirement savings could last, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum, “Investing In (and for) Our Future.”
By retirement, the authors said, U.S. men and women have saved enough money to last an average of 9.7 years. Women have an average life expectancy of 10.9 years past that time, however, and American men have an average life expectancy of 8.3 years past that time.
“As people are living longer, they must ensure they have enough retirement funds to last them through their longer lives,” said Han Yik, head of the Institutional Investors Industry of the World Economic Forum. “This requires investing with a long-term mindset earlier in life to increase total savings later on.”
In the United States, the gap between funds available for retirement and what is needed was $28 trillion in 2015, the researchers previously determined. With the 5% annual growth of the gap that they predict, the amount will increase to $137 trillion by 2050 if measures are not taken to increase overall levels of saving, they said.
To close the savings gap, the new report says, individuals and policymakers must take steps to ensure that individual retirement investments can provide returns retirees won’t outlive.
The report examines retiree saving in five other countries as well.
