Retirement plan participation down to 39% in 10-year decline

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/business/currency/2824506,CST-NWS-RETIRE22.article

October 22, 2010

The number of American workers participating in a retirement plan continued to decline last year, adding to the trend that began with the recession of 2008 and reaching its lowest level in a decade.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute analysis, based on latest U.S. Census Bureau data, shows that among all workers (including those not offered a retirement plan at work), 39.6 percent participated in a retirement plan in 2009, about 1 percentage point less than 2008 and down almost 5 percentage points from the high of 44.4 percent registered in 2000.

[Historic NY]

1. Of course if you lost your job, you don't have a plan.

[dkf]

3. These people are "workers" meaning they have jobs.

When you add in the unemployed that is even worse.

[madmax]

2. Those who are working and should save for

retirement don't have disposable income to think old age. They worry about getting through the week as in my son's case.

This is not a good thing, but it's what is going on with the disintegrating middle class.

[doc03]

4. The stock market has been stagnant for 10 years and

fixed income investments pay nearly zero dividends, why save for retirement? A friend that I thought was nuts at the time said about 15 years they are suckering us baby boomers into investing in the stock market. He said as the baby boomers invest it will drive the market up and when we reach retirement age and start withdrawing our money it will drive the market down. I am starting to realize he was probably right. Thanks to the Democrats or our SS would be stuck in the same market.
Then I read today GWB says his greatest disappointment was not privatizing SS.