Social Security: Save for Your Future campaign coming soon
Retirement planning is a mystery for too many Americans: They don’t know how much money they will need, where it might come from, or when they should begin saving.
A national Save for Your Future campaign, set to begin in spring 2003, will help answer these questions and educate Americans about the importance of saving. This upcoming campaign was recently announced in New York City by Jo Anne Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security, and Dallas L. Salisbury, chairman of the American Savings Education Council (ASEC).
“Social Security is the foundation of a secure retirement,” said Commissioner Barnhart. “Social Security was only meant to be part of a three-legged financial stool, along with pensions and personal savings. Unfortunately, only half of today’s retirees have a private pension. And too few Americans save as much as they should.”
Most financial planners say a person needs between 70 and 80 percent of his or her pre-retirement income to live comfortably in retirement. But for the average worker, Social Security replaces only about 40 percent of pre-retirement income. The balance must come from pensions and personal savings or investments.
Just last year, an ASEC survey reported that fewer than half of working Americans have tried to calculate how much they will need for a comfortable retirement. In 2001, only 33 percent felt they were on track in their financial preparation for retirement, and 34 percent said they are way behind schedule. Half of workers have saved less than $50,000. Two in 10 say they have saved nothing at all for retirement.
SSA already has a number of efforts under way to educate workers about the importance of financial planning. Each year, SSA mails a Social Security statement to all workers age 25 and older. The statement provides customized benefit estimates and earnings information to individuals who are not receiving benefits.
Social Security also has a retirement planner on its Website at www.ssa.gov. There, people of any age can estimate future retirement benefits by using one of three calculators.