A new Retirement Income Study suggests that while older Americans are making slow but steady gains in income, as a group they are still falling short of the levels needed for a healthy retirement.
Delaware ranks sixth in the nation when it comes to the percentage of households aged sixty five and over who've saved enough to retire comfortably.
Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com, says older Delawareans are faring just a bit better than their counterparts in other areas of the country.
“You need about 70 percent of your pre-retirement income, after you’ve stopped working, to have a comfortable life," said Sante. "The average for the country was just a little under 60 percent and in Delaware its a little more than 62 percent so that’s a little bit better than average.”
But Sante adds that seemingly good news may be misleading.
“The concern is that many of those folks in Delaware who are doing the best are doing well because they have traditional pensions from generally speaking usually big companies, in your case like Dupont," Sante said. "Preparing for retirement has become a lifelong occupation in this country as we’ve gotten away from corporate and government traditional pensions.”
According to the report, only seniors in Washington D.C and Nevada meet the 70 percent threshold. Retirees in the Northeast are particularly at risk for struggling in their retirement years due to a higher cost of living. Older Americans in Massachusetts fare the worst at 50 percent.
Additionally, the percentage of Americans 65 and older who are still working has been increasing steadily for 20 years.
