Retirement Factoid

I start 401(k) Enrollment Meetings tomorrow.

And I don't want to freak people out, but this new study would make anybody pause and reflect:

... [A]bout 46 percent of senior citizens in the United States have less than $10,000 in financial assets when they die. Most of these people rely almost totally on Social Security payments as their only formal means of support, according to the newly published study, co-authored by James Poterba of MIT, Steven Venti of Dartmouth College, and David A. Wise of Harvard University. ...

Me, I would increase Social Security payments to put a dent in this sorry state of affairs, especially since Defined Benefit pensions are pretty much, as they say, kaput.

But I doubt this will happen anytime soon.

That being the case, if you're working inside a company that offers a 401(k) Plan, I suggest you give serious consideration to participating in it. Even if your participation is at the 4% or 5% level. Because underfunding is better than no funding at all.