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[IWS] RACE AND RETIREMENT INSECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES [10 December 2013]

IWS Documented News Service

_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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National Institute on Retirement Security

 

RACE AND RETIREMENT INSECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES [10  December 2013]

By Nari Rhee, PhD

http://www.nirsonline.org/storage/nirs/documents/Race%20and%20Retirement%20Insecurity/race_and_retirement_insecurity_final.pdf

[full-text, 22 pages]

 

Press Release 10 December 2013

NEW STUDY FINDS TYPICAL U.S. HOUSEHOLDS OF COLOR HAVE NO RETIREMENT SAVINGS 

Retirement Crisis Most Severe for Black, Latino Households

http://www.nirsonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=813&Itemid=61

 

 

This report serves as a companion to NIRS’s July 2013 study, “The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse Than We Think?,” which documented a significant retirement savings

gap among working-age households in the US. In this followup report, we examine racial disparities in retirement readiness among workers and households age 25-64. This paper analyzes

workplace retirement coverage, retirement account ownership, and retirement account balances among whites, people ofcolor, and—where data permits—Blacks, Latinos, and Asians.

Findings are based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s

2010 Survey of Consumer Finances. The report finds that while every racial group faces significant risks, people of color face particularly severe challenges in preparing for retirement.

 

Specific findings are:

 

1. Workers of color, in particular Latinos, are significantly less likely than White workers to be covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan—whether a 401(k) or defined benefit (DB) pension.

 

·         Only 54 percent of black and Asian employees and 38 percent of Latino employees age 25-64 work for an employer that sponsors a retirement plan, compared to 62 percent of White employees.

·          

·         These racial disparities are much more pronounced in the private sector than in the public sector. Blacks, Asians, and Latinos are respectively 15, 13, and 42 percent less likely than whites to have access to a job based retirement plan in the private sector, compared to 10, 9, and 12 percent less likely in the public sector.

·          

·         Households of color lag behind white households in coverage by pensions that guarantee lifetime retirement income. While 24 percent of white households have a pension through a current job, only 16 percent of households of color do. This disparity is primarily due to the fact that just 12 percent of Latino households are covered by a pension plan—half the rate of white and black households.

·          

2. Households of color are far less likely to have dedicated retirement savings than White households of the same age. At the same time, coverage appears to be positively associated with the existence of dedicated household retirement savings in both groups.

 

·         A large majority of black and Latino working age households—62 percent and 69 percent, respectively—do not own assets in a retirement account, compared 37 percent of White households.

·         The racial gap in retirement account ownership persists across age groups.

·          

·         Households with pensions through a current job are more likely to have dedicated retirement savings in a 401(k) or IRA type account than households without pensions: 74 percent versus 66 percent, respectively, among white households, and 52 percent versus 40 percent among households of color.

·          

3. Households of color have substantially lower retirement savings than white households, even after controlling for age and income.

 

·         Three out of four black households and four out of five Latino households age 25-64 have less than $10,000 in retirement savings, compared to one out of two White households.

·         Among near-retirees, the per-household average retirement savings balance among households of color ($30,000) is one-fourth that of White households ($120,000).

·          

·         Across age groups, households of color with at least one earner are half as likely as white households to have retirement savings equal to or greater than their annual income. For instance, only 19 percent of households of color near retirement have this much retirement savings, compared to 41 percent of white households of the same age.

·          

Race and Retirement Insecurity in the United States serves as a companion to NIRS’ July 2013 study, The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse Than We Think?, which documented a significant retirement savings gap among working-age households in the U.S.

 

This research is based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey Annual Social and the Federal Reserve’s 2010 Survey of Consumer Finance and analyzes data for whites, people of color and—where data permits—blacks, Latinos, and Asians.

 

 

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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

 






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