After 40 years in 401(k)s, how are boomers doing?
Schwab takes a look at the first generation to use 401(k)s through the bulk of their working lives.
With 401(k) plans turning 40 years old, a Schwab Retirement Services survey finds that a majority of boomers feel their own 401(k) plans are in better shape than ever.
In fact, 75% of boomer respondents believe that, and just 16% say they expect to work during retirement because they think they’ll need the money. Contrary to numerous headlines, 40% of this confident crew plans to work in some way during retirement because they want to, while 25% say they don’t plan to work at all.
They also feel pretty good about the prospect in that close to three quarters say they’ll have a better quality of life in retirement than their parents — 78% also think it’ll be better than that of their juniors, too.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone feels prepared. Not only do 36% of respondents not know how much they need to save for retirement, 25% aren’t sure about the percentage that needs to go into their 401(k)s. And 20% don’t know how to get the money out of their plans once it goes in.
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