Data collected from the 13th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey makes it clear that the effects of the “Great Recession” have taken their toll on not just retirees, but the unemployed and underemployed as well.
“Many have raided retirement accounts to make ends meet – and it will be difficult for them to overcome these savings setbacks once they regain employment,” said Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
Of the 61% of respondents who have retirement savings accounts, 35% reported they have withdrawn from their retirement accounts to make ends meet. More specifically, more than half of unemployed and underemployed respondents have tapped into their savings accounts to make ends meet, with 24% having turned to friends and family for loans.
According to the study, underemployed workers are doing better than the unemployed through opportunities to earn income and access to health insurance, decreasing the likeliness they will need to withdraw from their retirement funds to supplement expenses.
A survey of total household retirement savings shows that those in their 20s and 30s have significantly more saved up than those in their 40s and 50s. Respondents in their 20s and 30s had a media savings of $10,000 while results of those in their 40s and 50s show a median savings of $2,300.
Kylie Hennagin is an intern at
